The Third Coming Sage
by Sivam-Surprise
Summary: A horrific accident leaves Percy motherless and defenseless against the forces hunting his head. However, he has caught the attention of a very, very old spirit that might just help him save the world like he once did so long ago. Sage!Percy, Sage!Zoe, Sage!Artemis, Teacher!Kurama. Percy/Zoe - Rated M (To be safe) - Indefinite Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story idea that has annoyed me since last year and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Consider this a Pilot chapter, if it entertains you and you guys demand more, then sure I'll continue to write it. However Team of Two, for those of you who follow that story, is still my No.1 Priority.**

**Basically I wrote this to be a One-Shot challenge Fic at first, because I was kind of tired of reading all the Naruto/Percy Jackson stories that featured Naruto coming into the world of PJ and basically owning everyone. Whether he's a son of a god/goddess, whether he has had kids with them, or whether or not he's just there to kick ass, it always seems to be about Naruto, and don't get me wrong, i love that shit lol. I just from time to time, want to read something a little different that isn't so, Naruto-eccentric. So basically if you feel up to it, and feel like you could do a good job on a story that focuses around these characters, then feel free to take this idea! Please! Haha.**

**Anyway, this is a bit of a cliche starting, but considering i wrote this chapter at 3.a.m, I honestly couldn't care less haha. Grammatical errors and spelling errors aside, this is a pilot chapter, and possibly will be remade some time in the future, if it gets good feedback.**

* * *

Dashing through the trees at a panicked pace, the small six year old ran for his life. The monsters were chasing his delicious scent, waiting for him to tire out so they could finish him early. Nothing made any sense anymore in Percy's mind, nothing really mattered anymore, he was going to die and there was nothing he could do to change this traumatic fate that was dawning upon him.

He didn't exactly know where he was running to, all that he knew was that there was an instinct telling him to run and not stop running until he was completely out of sight and out of mind, and in here, he wasn't nearly as close to escaping these shadowy creates as monsters converged on him left and right.

His mind briefly drifted back to the hurtful two weeks since this all started, that faithful day two weeks ago where he lost everything in a single moment. His mother was driving him to school, and he was listening to his music like every other day. He didn't like going to school, he thought it was unnecessary for him anyway since he had already been expelled from two, and he was only six years old!

However, one moment it was peaceful in the car then, next minute the car was rolling causing Percy's vision to falter and the adrenaline to rush into his veins as the car was upturned in the middle of the road. Blood seeped down Percy's forehead as he turned to his mother slowly. She was unconscious, eyes closed while her entire body seemed to have glass from both the windshield and her side window all over her.

They were hit by a truck that had sped through a red light and collided with them accidentally, but Percy felt something that day, he felt something off and since he was still such a young boy, he never knew what to think of it. It felt strange, it felt overpowering to the point where it dazed him just thinking about it.

Anyway that's how he ended up in this situation in the first place. Things started to get hectic fast, and no sooner than he found out that his mother had passed away, he found himself on the run from the orphanage he was placed in within two days of his arrival!

From scavenging food to battling off strange looking creatures with nothing but an overly large stick. Percy was forced to fight for his life in a world he had never thought existed in his wildest imagination. A world where reality seemed to bend around him, and when this happened, more monsters would come. What was even worse was that he seemed to be the only person that was capable of seeing them!

As he ran through the forest that encase and closed around him, the darkness of the sky sealing his vision from what it should have been, Percy found that his hope of survival was slipping and it was slipping faster than he could attempt to grasp and keep hold of it.

In his state of panic, he tripped over a root and face planted on the soil. Percy held his now bloody nose as it seemed to stream out of his nose like a water fall. Percy tried to get up but found a something large and sharp had pinned him down. He managed to turn his head to see a couple of hell hounds licking their lips hungrily.

Percy struggled and thrashed about on the ground, desperately trying to find a way to escape from his current situation, but after a few moments, he found that the hell hounds seemed to be amused by this. The fact that their prey was so easily caught and the fact that it was still struggling obviously seemed to amuse them.

Percy managed to roll over only to have an extremely large, not to mention heavy hell hound pounce onto his stomach, forcing the young demigod to exhale all his remaining air out of his lungs, effectively choking him. Percy closed his eyes and brought his hands up to shield his face from the oncoming jaws of death as the hell hound opened its mouth to devour him.

In a split second, the weight from Percy was removed and the young raven haired boy sucked in a breath as he coughed and spluttered. He rolled to his side and gently opened his eyes to find that a fox, easily the size of a horse, had tackled the hell hounds off of him and was currently engaging the other six or seven hell hounds that had been chasing the boy with relative ease.

One after another, the hell hounds dropped to golden dust as the fox turned its head to its next target and easily ripped it to shreds. The strange thing about this fox was not its size in comparison to the hell hounds, but its tail, or _tails._ It had four long orange fox tails waving around, acting like whips to whatever tried to attack it from behind.

A few seconds later, the hell hounds were nothing but a pile of golden dust, being swept away from the midnight breeze and carried far, far away by the trees of the forest. The fox turned to the downed demigod with a look of sympathy and sadness as it slowly walked over to the child.

**"What do we have here? A young demigod child abandoned to the fate of death by the Gods of Olympus… when will they learn?"** The voice was ruff and very low, like a male with more testosterone than he needed. The sounds seemed to come from the fox's mouth, but Percy couldn't believe that for a second, however to spoke once more, confirming Percy's theory.

**"Sleep now young little demigod, there is no longer any need to worry."** The fox said. Percy wasn't one to argue, so whatever this fox was going to do with him, it was much better than dying at the hands of some monster puppies. Percy heeded the fox's advice and passed out.

* * *

Percy awoke to have his vision assaulted by the rays of the sunlight. He felt sand beneath his body and he heard the crash of the waves against the shoreline. He wasn't sure what to make of this situation as he didn't exactly remember passing out near an ocean. Not that he was complaining, he always felt closer to the ocean more than anything, and he loved the water.

Slowly but hesitantly Percy sat up to find the fox that had rescued him sitting patiently beside him, waiting for him to awaken. They fox acknowledged the waking boy and turned its head to greet the young demigod.

**"Greetings young demigod, did you sleep well?"** The fox spoke. Percy remained silent, bewildered that a fox was talking to him, an animal that should not have been capable of human speech or communication! Percy's mouth slowly dropped to hang from his jaw as the fox seemed to smirk at him, mocking his innocence.

**"You have been chased by monsters of urban legend, yet you're surprised by a talking fox? You are quite a strange one… yet you are a lot like _him_."** The fox said staring off into the horizon. Percy thought it looked like one of those cheesy moments of remembrance from those movies he use to watch with his mother, but he saw the oldness in the eyes of this fox, a hurt so old and a memory so ancient that he felt getting older just by staring at the eyes of this fox!

"W-Who are you?" Percy managed to stammer out. The fox turned to acknowledge him again, this time with a more sympathetic smile, showing off the fox's impressive canines and razor sharp teeth.

**"I go by many names, Percy Jackson, I've had names so old and so out of fashion you could laugh at them. I've been given names by the mortals of this earth, some cruel and foul, some out of fear, and some… out of friendship. I was known long ago as the Kyuubi no Yōkō… but that was a very long time ago… just call me Kurama."** The now dubbed Kurama said with a light smirk.

Percy didn't see any violent intentions or vicious plots behind those eyes of Kurama, sure they were crimson blood red with a violent taint behind them, but Percy could feel no hidden vicious intent from the fox to harm him. Percy carefully stood up and examined his surroundings. It seemed he was on a beach, or a shoreline, but from where he was previously, he was sure that there was no beach or any kind of water source nearby.

"Where am I? This place doesn't seem familiar at all." Percy noted out loud as he looked to the fox for answers. The fox just chuckled lightly, but the laugh seemed more sinister than it was actually meant to be.

**"It would seem you have never been to Alaska then child. You'll be safe here in this land with me. I intend you help you young Ningen. You're naivety about the world you truly belong in worries me a great deal child, I seek to rectify that."** Kurama explained as he walked off back to the line of trees behind him, away from the shore. Percy turned to watch the fox leave and couldn't help but question one thing.

"Why did you help me? What do you want from me?" Percy questioned. He hated being left in the darkness about certain things, he didn't like not knowing what was happening or what was going to happen, and he also didn't like things happening for no apparent reason. Kurama turned and gave Percy an impassive look.

**"I helped you because I owed a favor to an old friend. I promised him I would protect this land, and I have neglected it for a long time. This world has become polluted and foul, not like it once was. I helped you because… you reminded me of what he once was, and back then… I never helped him because I was…"** Kurama trailed off. The fox spun and glared heavily at Percy causing him to stumble backwards. Kurama stood tall and strong above the demigod and looked down on him.

**"The point is I see potential in you. You are a right in the middle of things much bigger than you would think, and you are much more important than you actually realize. If left on your own, you're knowledge about the world that has been hidden from you since your birth is insufficient, and right as of now, you are not even close to being ready to face the type of danger that hunts you."** Kurama said. Percy frowned and made a face, his six year old mind not understanding everything that was being said; however before he could say anything, the fox cut him off.

**"Your ignorance is rather large, but that is to be expected, considering your age. You are not yet ready to learn the truth of this dark world, however in time you will learn how to fight against it. Remember what happened with your mother. That will continue to happen until you learn how to stand on your own."** Kurama said, putting it as simply as he could so the six year old could understand. Percy remained silent as the fox continued.

**"For the time being, I have brought you to the land where they cannot reach you or harm you. It is here where you will become strong; where I will teach you what you need to know in order to survive the oncoming storm. That is all for now, I will tell you more as you grow older. Get use to the surroundings young Ningen, because this place…"** Kurama said gesturing to the large forest behind him.

**"-…Is your new home." **

XXX

Time is a funny and insignificant thing when you're young. You have no perception of it, nor do you seem to abide by the rules and responsibilities that come with the very idea of time. Percy seemed to recognize this quickly and grew up in a strange way. He had trouble adjusting to this lifestyle that the fox named Kurama had introduce him to.

Confused as he was he wasn't anywhere near the level Kurama wanted him to be. He got no rest, no breaks, no mercy as training began almost immediately. For the first few months, Percy hated Kurama. The fox showed him no sympathy, no respect and lastly, was just downright rude to the little boy.

Percy had attempted numerous times to run away, but only found himself in a similar situation as to when his mother died. Kurama saving him and dragging him back to his 'new home' in a vegetated and abandoned forest that was only ever used as a hunting ground for mortals.

Time seemed to pass slowly as Percy started to gain Kurama's respect in battle. When close to the water, Percy would provide enough of a challenge to get Kurama to take him seriously. The upset nature and unstable temper of a child was not to be underestimated, especially for a child of Poseidon. Enough emotional trauma and he could probably cause a tsunami to swallow the nearest beach.

Life was no means simple for Percy. The young boy was pushed to his very limits each day in more ways than one. The strain both mentally and physically felt like it was starting to give the poor boy PTSD, however his demigod nature prevented him from such a psychological effect early on in his life, but it was not impossible to gain. Give or take, demigods that attain PTSD only get even more dangerous.

Slowly, days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and finally, those months turned to years and Percy really grew to see Kurama as a role model, almost like an uncle or a father figure. After he was nine, Kurama had explained his heritage to him, and explained just what it meant to be a demigod and why he was in danger. It was like a metaphorical mirror had been shattered for the boy. It took a few weeks to settle this new knowledge.

What really fuelled Percy's anger was the fact that his mother's death was not by any means, an accident, but an attempt by Hades to take revenge on his brothers for breaking a vow that they had promised to keep since world war two. Percy wasn't sure how to cope with this information, but instead of getting depressed and angry, he un-consciously decided to use this hatred and convert it to strength and determination to get stronger and help those that need it the most.

Thus a warrior was born, a shinobi was born. He would endure the darkness of this cursed world. He would shape the world with his blade, he would carve out the splinters, hammer in the pangs and cut out the infection that seemed to sit upon this world without anyone noticing. He would bring peace, he would end these pointless disputes and put an end to the hatred.

Because he would endure, he would push on when all the hope is lost, he would rise up and fight back. He was hope incarnate.

However, while these things may be true, he was still an inexperienced child, and for them to succeed, they must first be doomed to fail, and Percy was plagued by thoughts of doubt and failure. Kurama was to make sure, that this would change, it was only a matter of time.

But then again, time is a funny thing. When you're not looking it slips from your grasp and vanishes.

* * *

Four years passed swimmingly, with a few rough patches. It was rough and annoying for Kurama at first to baby sit the young child, but eventually, tough love seemed like a good choice to make. Percy had been carved into a warrior so dangerous, no sane demigod his age would even think of challenging him to a fight.

A medium sized blur shot through the trees with a make shift bow and arrow and a handmade hunting knife. Using the surroundings to his advantage, he swung from branches and landed on others, ran up trees using the stamina he had built up to push his way up to a new level of height in the trees.

Percy turned and notched a quick arrow and let it fly. It missed its target by mere millimeters, as his target dashed and zigzagged through the bushes below him. The shadowed figure with four tails hunted him restlessly through the day and nights that were his training. Percy narrowed his eyes as his ADHD kicked it and dodged a pounce from Kurama, however those long orange appendages he called tails wrapped around his neck and dragged him off the branch he was standing on, and pulled him towards the ground.

Percy stabilized in mid-air and managed to somersault, despite having a fox tail wrapped tightly around his head like a scarf in the winter. The demigod in training landed on his feet and rolled instantly to avoid taking the full consequences of the damage from falling. Percy unsheathed his knife and pointed it at the tail that was around his neck, causing an observing Kurama to smile and unwrap it slowly.

**"Excellent recovery, for a boy with no chakra coils, I'm impressed."** Kurama said unwrapping his tail from the boy's neck. Percy sighed and sheathed his knife and sat down, taking a swing of water from his flask, even the tiniest drops seemed to rejuvenate him.

"Yeah, yeah… that chakra stuff is weird. I don't understand it at all. You say a long time ago humans use to use it… said that with enough training a mere human could become more powerful than the gods." Percy said. Kurama looked out to the east as a flock of birds flew away and began to walk that way.

**"Chakra is a long since forgotten term. People refer to it as magic now days. However chakra coils do not exist in the human body any longer. I do not know when, but they seemed to disappear over time. Follow me, we need to find food."** Kurama said changing the subject. Percy frowned; he always seemed to change the subject when he brought up something that happened long ago.

From what Percy could gather, chakra was some sort of energy within people's bodies that let them perform feats that would amaze even the gods. However Kurama had informed him he did not have the ability to use chakra, nor did any other human on the planet, not even the gods. Chakra had long since gone, that age had passed.

Percy sighed and followed after Kurama, his footsteps silent as they connected with the ground. In front of Percy, Kurama smirked; it was time Percy moved onto his final stage of his training. He would break the news to the boy tonight during dinner, the final stage, but un-doubtfully the hardest part and possibly the most deadly part of what he had planned for the boy, the only blockade was whether or not he had the means to do it.

During dinner that night, Kurama watched Percy eat out of the corner of his eye as he lay next to the fire. Images from the past seem to play through the fire as Kurama watched impassively. So many events he recognized, so many times he saw _him_ saving his friends and pushing himself to his limits, even surprising him for the briefest of times.

Then he looked at Percy, he saw much of _him_ in that boy… so much conviction, so much determination never to give up. The boy would always stand back up after a beat down, the boy would always stand tall after being humiliated by the fox, nothing would set Percy off course, and he was just like _him_. It was almost hard for Kurama not to call Percy by his old friend's name. They were so alike in so many ways it scared the old fox, but in a good way.

**"Ningen."** Kurama said gaining the boys attention. Percy couldn't reply as he had a large volume of cooked boar meat in his mouth, so instead of acknowledging the fox properly, he just settled with an "Mmmmhmmhm?" to answer the fox. Kurama grumbled a bit but continued anyway.

**"I think it's time we moved on to the final stages of your training here."** Kurama said. Percy's eyes widened as he quickly finished his mouthful to question what kind of training it was. All he had been doing up till now was survival training and advanced hand to hand combat, along with knife and sword techniques and how to shoot a bow and arrow. He was terrible with a bow to begin with, but with Kurama's training, that was fixed fairly quickly.

"Really, what's the last stage?" Percy replied, eager to hear the next stage of his training. He had suggested he could move on about a year ago, but Kurama wasn't satisfied with what he had back then, and now he could see why, the look on Kurama's face was pained, but something told Percy if he screwed up this final part, it could mean something very bad.

**"I will be teaching you how to utilize Senjutsu, the lost art that could put you on the same level as a god. However, with the world as it is now, Senjutsu can be quite unpredictable. The only people that were able to master it was my old friend and Pan, the god of the wild, and he's gone missing, and my old friend has… already passed away."** Kurama said. Percy seemed confused at this, what was Senjutsu? The word seemed… dated, not right, out of place. He didn't know what it even stood for?

"What's Senjutsu? Don't you need chakra for that?" Percy questioned feeling a little bit confused. Every time he heard something with jutsu on the end, Kurama said that he would need chakra for it, which he doesn't have, so why did Kurama think he could use Senjutsu?

**"Yes, you would need chakra for that to be the conductor for Senjutsu. In the way that Senjutsu works is that you draw in natural chakra and merge it with your own chakra. If done incorrectly, the flow of natural chakra can wield some… unwanted changes, possibly causing death. However while you do not have chakra, you have something else that would work."** Kurama explained. Percy nodded.

"My godly side wields the ability to utilize this Senjutsu stuff? So what does this Senjutsu stuff give me that would benefit me?" Percy asked. Kurama just smirked; this boy just loved to ask questions and is always eager to improve. One of the many differences between his old friend and Percy. Percy seemed to show a bit more intelligence.

**"I have theorized that while your demi-godly power is not chakra, it can work in similar ways. You're nature reflects around water and liquid being as you're a son of Poseidon." **Kurama said. Percy was not shocked in the slightest, he had already been told this about a year or two ago. Still hard to believe, but after all that crap that happened after his mother died, all those monsters that came after him because of his powerful scent, it was hard to deny his godly heritage.

**"Senjutsu would effectively make you a super human. You're five senses boosted to a level that no human would be able to reach. Your strength and speed would match that of the strongest of monsters, and your connection with nature will become stronger."** Kurama explained with a grin. Percy narrowed his eyes at the last one.

"My connection with nature..? What does that mean?" He repeated. Kurama rolled his eyes, sometimes Percy just had to have the simplified explanation… just, like, _him_.

**"It means you're in sync with your powers. In your case, controlling and manipulating water will become so easy you won't even break a sweat trying to cause a tsunami. In some instances, you might even be able to control other domains with enough practice."** Kurama simplified. Percy made an 'oh' with his mouth and nodded projecting his understanding to the annoyed fox. Sometimes he was so much like _him_, it annoyed the fox a lot.

**"However, learning Senjutsu will be extremely difficult. If done incorrectly you can die. I won't force this on you if you don't wish to train in Senjutsu, but I would recommend you attempt it. The risk of dying is high, but under my teaching, where have you ever gone wrong?"** Kurama chuckled darkly. Percy sweat dropped at that last part. He could think of a number of instances where he almost died. This was no different, he already had the answer.

"I'll do it." Percy said without any hesitation. Kurama smirked and closed his eyes.

**"I never doubt you for a second."**

* * *

Two years seemed to pass rather slowly as Sage training had begun. It was off to a slow start, and so far, they had come to a brick wall that seemed almost impossible to break down. The very fact that chakra was part of Percy's body, was a changing factor that needed to be addressed. While it was chakra that flowed through his body, it was definitely something very similar, and worked in similar ways.

Kurama had never been so frustrated in his immortal tailed beast life. At least he had thought had never been this frustrated. Percy just couldn't seem to get the balance in Sage mode correctly. They had figured out he was capable of using it, and he was successful at gathering the natural chakra because of his connection to the ocean and nature itself, however he could not get the balancing correct.

Kurama could list off the countless times Percy had screwed up trying to access Sage Mode, and him having to use his tails to smack the Senjutsu out of Percy and absorb it himself, to keep Percy from turning to in a stone fox statue. Percy would grow a fox tail, or fox ears, whiskers, claws, sometimes fur even grew all over his body causing other various itching problems that Kurama had to listen to Percy complain about over, and over again.

Sage training was un-doubt-ably the hardest training of them all. At some point in time, he recalled a few of the Olympians attempting to learn the art, but feared to progress any further. Immortal of not if you turned into a stone statue, that was it, no second chances for you! Athena had tried, but her wisdom feared the outcome. Artemis had attempted but never actually finished the training in fear of the outcome.

Where they had failed, Percy would succeed. However, Percy's constant failure at attaining the balance in Sage Mode was almost making Kurama lose hope, but Percy always reassured him he would make the mark, and complete and master his Sage training. He wouldn't have it any other way otherwise.

As Percy continued his Sage training, Kurama noted that there was something happening in the north. A foul electrical tinge found its way into Kurama's senses. Something had upset Zeus and no doubt there was going to be a conflict over it. This went on and on for a few months before it stopped, and still Percy had made little progress on his Sage training. He needed a way to speed things up, so it was time to try something.

**"Ningen, stop for a second. Let me try something."** Kurama said as he used his power to shrink down to a much smaller fox than before. He was almost the size of Percy's arm, and this was the size he needed to attempt his little experiment.

Kurama hopped onto Percy's shoulder and merged with the young demigod. The merge was successful, however Percy didn't notice anything.

"What are you doing? You know you could fall off if I moved right?" Percy said. Kurama smirked at Percy's statement.

**"You could try, but I won't budge."** Kurama stated. Percy decided to play that bet; he twisted turned and shook his shoulders as hard as he could. Kurama didn't budge at all, instead the fox yawned as if to mock the young demigod.

**"Would you like me to explain why I'm doing this, or would you rather continue shake and look like an idiot trying to get a fox off of your shoulder?"** Kurama asked mockingly. Percy just huffed and sighed. It wasn't like he was getting anywhere with this anyway. Advice from the fox would probably help him.

"Fine whatever, what are you up to?" Percy questioned. Kurama cleared his throat.

**"I'm going to attempt to do the balancing for you. Since you can already feel the natural energy around you and can utilize it, you should be able to feel how I balance it for you. You're going to have to remember how it feels, how it tastes. Do not forget the flow; do not forget the end result."** Kurama said as he started the process. Percy closed his eyes as felt the process begin.

After a few seconds, the outer of Percy's eyes gained a red furry tint to them as well as his eye lids. As Percy opened his eyes, his eyes were no longer sea green, but crimson red with a narrow slit down the middle for his pupil. A wave of indescribable pleasure and awareness rushed through his body, freshening his senses and waking him up.

Percy felt amazing; it was like nothing he had ever felt before! He could feel everything, he felt more resistant to damage, he felt stronger, his senses were sharper than ever before and overall he just felt like a whole new person.

"Whoa." Was all Percy managed to get out. Kurama just chuckled.

**"Yes this is what it's like to master Sage Mode; this is what it feels like to be one with nature itself. Pan managed to get to the point where he was always in this mode because it was addicting, but he had mastered it so well, he didn't have to worry about the negatives of the form. You do not have that kind of mastery yet."** Kurama said as he hopped off Percy's shoulder.

Instantly, the Sage Mode went astray and Percy fell out of it and landed on his backside. However Percy was smiling, he now knew how to balance it properly, all he needed now was to practice and make it perfect. There was no time to lose. Kurama said time was closing in and that he would have to return back to the world of the gods, but now, he had something that would make him ready for it.

**"Try it again now, this time, focus and try and replicate how I did it for you."** Kurama ordered. The fox sat patiently a few feet in front of Percy who sat down in a lotus stance and resumed channeling nature energy. For a few moments, Percy had it perfected; there wasn't a single flaw in his transformation. The hues of red around his eyes were phenomenal, and his power seemed to triple from what Kurama could tell.

"_He's getting it…"_ The fox thought as Percy continued to concentrate. After a while, the transformation seemed to once again go astray as Percy lost control. Kurama reared a tail and smacked the child of Poseidon upside the head, draining and absorbing all the natural chakra he had collected.

**"Good, you almost had it. A little more practice and you will have this down. After you have managed to gain control of Sage Mode, we will begin practicing and utilizing how to use it during combat and how to activate it quickly in time of need."** Kurama said. Percy rubbed the sore spot on his head where Kurama had hit him, but nodded quickly as he got back to perfecting his control over natural energy.

"_This kid is really like you… I hope you're watching, old friend. He carries your will; no doubt he is your successor."_ Kurama thought as he smacked Percy again with one of his tails, draining the Senjutsu chakra out of the boy's system.

* * *

As soon as Percy hit fourteen years old, something happened. Kurama noticed the boy seemed restless and distracted. He questioned this and found out the boy had been having strange dreams about a camp full of demigods, and a boy named Luke. Percy didn't know what to think of these dreams but somehow he felt the need to investigate them further.

Kurama decided it was time for Percy to reconnect with the land of the gods and return to where he was destined to be. Kurama didn't exactly like destinies, his only friend fell to the last destiny he was involved in and couldn't help but feel sorry for the things that awaited Percy in the future.

Before Percy left, Kurama gave him a summoning contract. Using Senjutsu chakra, Percy could summon Kurama at any time he wished since he had almost perfected Sage Mode now, but summoning would only last a few minutes before returning Kurama to the place before he had been summoned.

Percy also found he could perform feats he wasn't able to without Sage Mode, like sticking to vertical surfaces and incomparable sensory. He could practically hear and see a single rabbit move around from about ten miles away with Senjutsu chakra running through his godly veins.

All those years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears had paid off and now Percy was a force to be reckoned with. According to Kurama, Percy had the skills on par with some of the hunters of Artemis, and with the additional attributes of Sage Mode, he could be on par with Artemis herself along with some of the other gods or even Titans!

Sage Training was a lost art after all, the extraordinary power that hadn't been seen for tens of thousands of years was now in the capable hands of a demigod whose intentions and goals were all pure.

So here Percy was in the present day, dashing through the forests of Maine in a blur. No one could even see the boy. He was dressed in a dark black jacket, black leather combat boots, finger-less gloves, and loose fitting trousers. Although he loved the color blue, he couldn't help but agree with Kurama that black was the way to go.

Kurama had once told him his old friend use to run around with bright orange colors that would make anybody cringe. Percy didn't exactly understand why this was, but Kurama had said that it was a time period joke he wouldn't understand so Percy dropped that topic.

Percy arrived at his destination, a place called 'Westover Hall' somewhere in Maine. He had dreams about this place, about a boy that was half-goat and half boy tracking some kids. He had these dreams consistently so Percy took it as his godly heritage telling him that he had spent enough time in the shadows and it was time to come back out. So this place was his first stop.

The school was on holiday break apparently and a school ball was coming up in a week. In fact, the ball was in three days! Percy seemed to frown at this as he headed inside. Naturally he walked past all the staff and students helping to set up for the school ball. It must have been the time of year when parents came to visit.

Hiding his face under his hood slightly, Percy activated Sage Mode and searched the area for any clues or anything to go by based on what his dreams were focused around. Sadly, there was no goat boy nearby, however there were the two children here, the ones that he had seen in his dreams. They were off sitting on the bleachers. The younger boy was playing cards while the girl seemed to look board.

Percy decided not to approach them as he really had nothing to say to them. He wasn't even sure on what to say even if he did go over and talk to them. He was aware there were monsters around, with Sage Mode on, his scent was masked by the smell of nature, but it still wouldn't be enough for any monster curious enough to investigate.

Still Percy found himself at a dead end. He went and sat down in a chair in one of the corners and mulled over what his dreams were about again. Kurama had advised him that when demigods had dreams, they actually meant something. He wasn't sure what these dreams he was having right now meant. He saw a series of events play out in his mind when he dreamed about Westover Hall. Something important was supposed to happen here that involved those two kids sitting over there on the bleachers.

Wait, where were they? Percy's eyes darted around in a panicked state only to find that they were just walking to the bathrooms. Percy sweat dropped and rubbed his head sheepishly. One of his first solo missions and he was already panicking!

"_I am way too paranoid. Thanks Kurama and your Sage training for making me believe that I'm in danger every second of my life."_ Percy sulked slightly as he continued to stare plainly at the ceiling. Percy deactivated Sage mode and decided to just relax for a while. He had hiked all the way here, catching a few rides along the way.

The next few days were quite uneventful. What seemed to nag at Percy was that he was being watched, and his instincts were right too. Percy was being watched by a man named Dr Thorn. The man had approached him a few times with a few different teachers. Thanks to Kurama's training, Percy learned how to manipulate the mist to some sort of degree, and by incorporating Senjutsu into the mist, sometimes he could fool monsters into doing things, but it really depended on how aware they were of the mist being used on them.

Dr Thorn was undoubtedly a monster, Percy could almost smell the foul stench radiating off of the disguised man. When Percy activated Sage mode to check what kind of monster, Percy saw right through the illusion and found that under that disguise was an ugly, yet quite a powerful Manticore, which begged the question as to why Percy was able to manipulate him with Senjutsu incorporated mist.

The answer was he wasn't, Thorn was playing him, testing him to see how much the boy was aware of his demigod blood. So Percy decided to play with the shadows and avoid the man, yet keep an eye on him at the same time as well as watching the twins.

It wasn't till that very night that things started to play up. While sitting on the bleachers, a few rows to the right and a couple of steps up from the twins, Percy sat with his hood over his head with Sage Mode activated. With his Senjutsu, he could see the entire crowd along with the teachers dancing and mingling with each other, having a good time.

What he could also see were a group of kids his age, definitely not from around here, and in that group was the goat kid he was having dreams about, boys name was…. Grover, a Satyr was the Greek name for his kind he believed.

Along with him were a two others he didn't recognize at all. One was a beautiful blonde girl who wore skinny jeans and a large Kathmandu jacket to keep her warm. It was the middle of winter and it was snowing outside, however Percy didn't even feel the cold, his connection with nature nullified that for reasons he didn't understand, but it didn't matter, it was just a nice benefit to have.

The other girl seemed more like a punk type of girl. She wore black just like him. She wore a black Green day T-shirt, tattered mainstream jeans with typical 'cool' looking holes in them and some ordinary black sneakers. She was also wearing a jacket like the blonde girl.

As Percy watched this group, they noticed Thorn staring at them and decided to mingle with the other kids in the gym. It was a poor attempt to disguise themselves and Percy would have laughed at it if he wasn't trying to remain incognito himself, but as he watched Thorn, the man muttered something to himself and walked towards the exit.

It was at this very moment that the twins decided to get up and head for the exit as well. Percy saw that it was the older looking sister that was urging her bother to leave with her, despite his dismay; it looked like he wanted to finish playing his little card game before he left, but she was having none of it. Percy watched them head for the exit before getting up and following them himself.

Pushing through the crowd, he avoided the demigods and Satyr that were trying to remain undetected and followed on after the demigod kids that were obviously walking right into a trap.

Percy walked right out into the foyer and looked towards the main entrance. The twins were standing there petrified, rooted to the spot. The little boy was shaking in fear, while the girl had turned towards him and shook her head, sending a silent plead that Percy read was to 'run for your life'!

A distortion of something sharp cutting through the air reached Percy's Senjutsu enhanced ears as his hand instantly shot up and caught the large projectile before it hit his right shoulder. Percy looked at it with a frown, seeing the poison dripping from it. With a scowl he crushed in with the hand he caught it with, turning it to nothing but dust.

Out of the shadows from his right, emerged Dr Thorn, except with noticeable changes, one of them was the large tail waving around behind him. The man had whisker marks and seemed to have feral tiger-like eyes. This was only a particle Manticore transformation from what Percy could deduct.

"Very interesting, it would take years of training in reaction time and reflex to be able to even dodge one of my spikes, let alone catch one. Quite an impressive feat, what is your name child?" Thorn asked. Percy scowled from under his hood, his Senjutsu clearly hidden from enemy view. From the other room, he could feel the demigods gathering and coming this way, he had to wrap this up before they get drawn into the fight.

"Percy Jackson, and I would assume you are a Manticore, correct?" Percy questioned, although he already knew the answer. One of the lovely things about Sage Mode was that he could easily see through the mist easier than even the most talented mortal could. No disguise or mist could hide from natural energy.

"Percy Jackson? That is an almost believable lie. That boy died years ago, the son of Poseidon no longer lives." Thorn snarled. Percy deactivated Sage Mode and lifted his hood revealing the sea green eyes and black raven hair. Thorn gasped and balled a fist that was now forming a paw with very, very sharp claws.

"Impossible… If I didn't smell your scent so obviously days ago I would have completely called myself a liar. You disappeared off any kind of radar we have, we had assumed you were killed in Hades's attempt to get even with his brothers. Lord Kronos must be informed of this new development!" Thorn rambled on. Percy's eyes widened as he lifted the hood back over his head and activated Sage Mode. His eyes turned crimson red, and a hidden red furry hue circled his eyes.

Just at that moment, the two demigods and the Satyr burst into the room, weapons drawn and ready to fight. Lightening was crackling around the black haired girls spear. The other girl had a bronze knife out in one hand and a green Yankees hat in the other which made Percy raise an eyebrow at her choice of weapon. The Satyr had his pipes ready, but was eying him strangely; no doubt the Satyr was sensing the strange natural energy in Percy's body.

"Hold it right there!" The black haired girl shouted, freezing Dr Thorn and making Percy tense. He was quite sure that in this situation he was also classified as an enemy in their books. As far as he knew, Kurama told him that these days, Satyrs were sent out to help rescue demigods, not doubt these demigods and this Satyr were here to rescue the other two as he was still incognito.

Thorn snarled, and like a bullet, he dashed and grabbed the two defenseless demigods and sped out into the dark snowy forest, attempting to make his escape. Percy reacted instantly and raced after the Manticore at speeds that should have been impossible for a human.

"Whoa, that was unexpected." Annabeth said staring wide eyed at the spot Percy had been in just seconds ago. Thalia growled as she began to run after the escapee's.

"Come on! We're going to lose him, let's go goat-boy, Annie!"

XXX

As swift as the wind, nothing broke his stride as he vaulted and weaved through the tree branches in pursuit of Dr Thorn. Whatever the Manticore was trying was easily enough to get Percy riled and his blood pumping. Through this icy blizzard, the kids would certainly freeze soon, so Percy had to assume there was something waiting for Thorn up ahead.

Percy landed in the clearing and unsheathed two celestial bronze dangers. The hood shielded his Senjutsu perfectly as he held the two daggers like he would knives, ready to back stab. It was one of the ways Kurama taught him to hold a dagger, although the Fox sometimes referred to them as kunai, which was a strange name but Percy didn't dwell on it.

"End of the line Thorn, why does this involve the two kids over there?" Percy said gesturing to the two unaware demigod children who were having trouble comprehending the situation. Percy felt that just below the cliff they were standing on was water, or the ocean. It occurred to him briefly that he could push them off and use his Senjutsu enhanced powers whisk them away to safety, but they would never survive the fall, falling from this height and hitting water would be like hitting concrete.

Thorn snarled and hurled a barrage of poisons spikes at Percy. The young child of Poseidon deflected every single one with relative ease and unrivaled reaction time. A low feral growl emitted from the throat of the monster. The monster charged Percy, and Percy mirrored the movements and charged at Thorn.

Thorn went for a swipe; Percy saw the muscles move in the Manticore and predicted this movement. Using his superior strength, Percy leaned on his right foot, and using his hand to push the swipe from the Manticore's claw as it went passed his face. Thorn was thrown off balance slightly as Percy twirled elegantly and embedded the dagger close to the neck of the monster.

Thorn jumped back and howled in both anger and rage; ripping out one dagger and throwing it to the side, the Manticore launched into another attack, throwing spikes and swiping at the same time, hitting nothing but air. Percy dodged, evaded every attack Dr Thorn threw at him.

"Why can't I hit you!?" Thorn bellowed in rage. Percy just huffed in annoyance as he dodged another volley of spikes.

"You're too slow Thorn, and outmatched." Percy stated. Thorn went for another swipe, but over extended too far, Percy leaned in for the advantage but Thorn managed to twist his body, narrowly evading the dodge. However Thorn was meet by a winding punch to his face, that felt like Percy had actually hit him, but at the same time, he didn't.

Thorn stumbled back in complete shock, feral eyes trying to stare into Percy's but being protected by the darkness that the hood provided, shielding his face.

"B-But how..? I wasn't even hit by you! It was like I was hit by some kind of invisible force! How did you do that?" Thorn demanded angrily. Percy just smirked under his hood and silently thanked Kurama for teaching him Sage Arts as well as a few Sage Techniques that manipulated some forces of nature, like wind. However being the Son of Poseidon, some of these forces were restricted, and took great effort to control.

"Trade secret." Percy brushed off, earning an annoyed roar out of Thorn. Thorn was about to launch into another attack but was struck by a bolt of lightning. His daze and momentary shock forced Percy to spin around and investigate exactly where that power came from.

From his knowledge, Gods were not allowed to interfere with natural affairs on the mortal world. So unless Zeus was deciding to break the rules, which wouldn't be so surprising, and mess around with mortal affairs… or there was a child of Zeus around here somewhere.

Oddly enough, Percy found this out to be the latter of his assumption, seeing as the three demigods came out of the forest behind him, looking puffed and tired, and covered in leaves, causing Percy to snicker slightly under his hood. They were slow and seemed to drag have the forest with them as they came out.

"Oh lovely, more demigod children to ruin my day. This could have been easy, but now it's just become a whole lot more complicated!" Thorn bellowed as he leapt backwards on defense. Thalia raised her spear and her shield, preparing to attack, along with Annabeth who drew her knife. The Satyr seemed to be lagging behind, trying to catch his breath as he only just arrived now.

Right as things seemed to being going south, a hunting horn sounded to the east of them. Percy's head snapped to the direction from where the sound came from and muttered under his breath. From the looks of the others, the black haired girl known as Thalia seemed to silently scream under her breath while having her eyes closed. Thorn seemed to just go completely deadpan, like Murphy's Law was just playing with him today.

A silver arrow streaked out of the east and embedded itself into Thorn's upper torso. This arrow was followed by a large volley of the same type of arrow, which Thorn managed to evade at the last possible second. Everyone turned to the where the arrows originated from and found what looked like a Girl Scout group emerging from the darkness of the forest.

They were all dressed in Ski jackets and jeans wielding bows equipped with arrows, and hunting knives at their side. Each one seemed to glow with this majestic silver shine, which seemed to enhance their beauty to a whole new level. However, with Senjutsu, Percy was able to deduct that it was a blessing of some sort, nature and time seemed to bend around them, thus creating the silver glow.

"_The Hunters of Artemis, didn't think I'd run into them so soon."_ Percy thought as he watched an older girl emerge from the pack. She had her own aura to her, her light brown skin and dark volcanic rock eyes. She had a circlet on her head; with he guessed was some sort of Lieutenant Position because the other girl had emerged definitely had another feeling to her. With Senjutsu, Percy saw how much power this twelve year old girl radiated, no doubt she was the one dubbed as Artemis.

"Requesting permission to execute milady?" The Lieutenant asked notching her bow with a silver arrow. All the other girls mimicked her movements as the younger looking goddess seemed to stare at him strangely before staring back at the Manticore who was on the verge of a break down.

"This is not fair! A direct interference of Ancient Laws! This is absolute madness!" Thorn raged staring at the yellowed eyed goddess. She scowled turning to look in the opposite direction of the Manticore, enraging him further.

"I believe you are mistaken." She responded calmly. The girls beside her stood like statues, full of confidence and clam, not even shaking at how cold it was. Their bows were armed, aimed at the poor Manticore suffering from a bad case of Murphy's Law.

"The hunting of all wild creatures within my domain, and you foul beast, are also an acceptation to this. Zoe, permission granted." She responded coldly. Even the frozen air didn't seem cold enough to justify her tone of voice.

However before the hunters could even fire, Thorn dashed to the side quicker than anyone could follow and wrapped his tail around the closest, most defenceless person he could find, which just happened to be Annabeth who was caught off guard. She screamed as the tail wrapped around her and dragged her towards the cliff-side.

Thorn held the girl up as a human shield, causing Artemis to growl as she notched her own bow. Thorn grinned as he turned to Percy who was ready to dash at Thorn and turn him into mashed potato for slipping his senses so easily.

"This has been an interesting night but I feel as if I should take my leave. I should hope we not cross paths again Percy Jackson or my lord will make you suffer. You have hindered our plans this time, but things will change, son of Poseidon." Thorn growled. The hunters, including Artemis turned to Percy with surprised expressions along with the Satyr and Thalia.

"Son of… Poseidon?" Thalia murmured, completely forgetting Annabeth was captured. With that final statement, Thorn turned to jump off the cliff with sickened and frightened looking Annabeth with him. Percy saw this as panic entered his heart as he applied all the power his Senjutsu could muster and literally exploded forward, the ground and snow he was standing on a split second ago smashed and blew backwards as the son of Poseidon took off.

The hood came off revealing the Senjutsu enhanced Percy, but only one certain female was able to pick up on that. Time was slow for Percy as he dashed for Annabeth as they had just jumped off the cliff-side.

Percy slid, unsheathing his dagger and stabbing it into the ground as support, and at the very same time, just managing to grab a hold of Annabeth's arm. Annabeth dangled on the cliff side with Thorn hanging onto her leg while Percy was supporting them. No one in the clearly even dared to move, the suspense was too much to bare for any of them.

Annabeth caught sight of Percy's feral eyes, the red hue around the outers them with the single slit down the middle of his iris for the pupil. For a split second she was caught in them, wondering just who this boy named Percy Jackson was, and where had he been all her life.

His face went red with strain as he clenched his eyes shut and tried to pull them up. To everyone's surprise, Percy was actually succeeding. Thorn growled once again and attacked Percy from below, throwing a sharp spike at Percy who was unable to defend himself.

"Stop interfering brat!" He bellowed as he threw the spike. The spike impacted Percy's shoulder but wasn't strong enough to full embed into his skin, with Senjutsu circling through Percy's body, everything was increased, even the density of his skin. So while the spike did pierce his skin, it wasn't enough to fully stay there.

The sudden pain that shot through Percy's shoulder forced his grip on Annabeth to loosen and slip. She screamed as both she and Thorn plummeted into the mist and into the ocean below. Percy quickly got to his knees, his focus and concentration slipped and Sage Mode ran out causing his eyes to return to the normal sea green color, and the pain in his shoulder to intensify.

"NO!" Percy screamed. He tried to feel for the impact at the bottom, since there was an ocean below them, but there was nothing, they vanished into thin air, and Percy knew that things don't just vanish into thin air. What had just happened? Had he failed to protect someone? Had they died because of his arrogance? Why hadn't he just finished the monster off quickly instead of toying with him?

Percy knew he had made a foolish mistake that had just probably just cost a young demigod her life, and until he knew if she was alive or not, and until he had fixed his mistake, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly again. It hadn't been long since he left Kurama's tutelage, but now he knew he needed to talk to the Fox again, he needed the mentoring, maybe he wasn't ready yet…

Percy stood up, still looking over the edge of the cliff as he took out a water bottle and poured it over his shoulder, the water soaking his bloodied shoulder and healing it instantly. He took out some self-made ambrosia squares and ate one as he mulled over his thoughts.

The silence was uncomfortable once Percy became aware of it. The son of Poseidon turned hesitantly towards the others, feeling all eyes on him. He felt the certain hard, cold gaze of the goddess glaring at him from a few feet away. He turned towards her and bowed slightly, out of respect; she just narrowed her eyes and turned to Zoe who just happened to be also glaring at the boy, but with a mixture of surprise and disgust.

"Go set up camp, I must converse with the offspring of my uncle." She said. Zoe said nothing, nodding and spared one more glare at Percy before signalling the other hunts to scatter and set up a camp site in their area. Percy saw the goddess approaching him, along with Thalia and the Satyr on the other side. For a moment Percy felt threatened, but was reassured when the goddess spoke.

"We mean no harm; I only wish to speak with you, Percy Jackson." She said the name, as if she couldn't believe he was even here. Percy turned to Thalia and the Satyr, the girl just seemed to stop a few feet in front of him with her arms crossed, the Satyr seemed to stare wide eyed at Percy like he was some sort of miracle.

"Percy Jackson, I can't believe you're alive! I mean, where have you been this whole time? I've been looking for you for ages, you weren't even-" Grover started but was cut off as Artemis raised her hand to silence the goat boy.

"What he means to say is, _we_ have been looking for you. After the events with your mother a few years ago, Poseidon almost waged war against Hades for instigating such a threat. You were believed to be dead, but Hades was investigated, only to have been found with your mother, not you. You seemed to just disappear." Artemis said with narrowed eyes. She was also getting to the point that people don't just disappear.

"I was on the run for a while. Was taken in here and there by mortal families, but that didn't last long as monsters found me fast. I was eventually saved by a spirit and shipped off a few hundred miles." Percy said. Artemis narrowed her eyes.

"I see, your supposed death has caused a lot of strife up on Olympus. Your 'death' had Poseidon absolutely outraged towards every single god. It didn't matter if they had nothing to do with it, he had lost trust for his brothers and sisters in the council." Artemis stated. Percy raised his eyebrows at that.

"I have?" Artemis scowled but wasn't the one to answer, this time it was Thalia.

"Of course you idiot! I only woke up a few months ago and all I've been hearing is Percy Jackson this and Percy Jackson that! Rumour has it that Poseidon has abandoned the Olympian council out of anger that he has been betrayed by his family!" Thalia almost screamed. She seemed pretty pissed at Percy for this.

"That is no rumor. Poseidon only trusts a hand full of the Olympians now, including myself, Apollo, Hestia and Hermes. He came to me and tasked me to find you at all costs. Up till now, all I have had is cold leads. Where have you been boy?" Artemis asked once again. Percy sighed.

"Well I was in Alaska." Percy stated. Artemis gaped while Grover seemed to choke on his own breath and almost faint. Thalia just seemed to go white, looking at Percy like he was some kind of crazy person.

"A-Alaska? Why in the name of all things Olympian were you there!?" Grover almost screamed, on the verge of a heart attack. Percy scowled.

"Well excuse me for being attacked, blacking out and waking out a few hundred miles from my home. Can't say it's been an absolute roller coaster ride trying to figure out all this crazy stuff. When my teacher told me I was demigod I almost laughed at him, but considering all the shit I've been through, I kind of had no ammunition to deny that with!" Percy fought back. Grover seemed to shut up along with Thalia. Artemis ran a hand through her auburn hair.

"Okay, so if you were in Alaska, why are you here now? Surely this isn't just a coincidence." Artemis said eyeing Percy. She wanted to question his strange power after Thalia and Grover had left, it was something she needed to know. Percy just turned away from them and looked off into the distance.

"I had these… dreams. Told me to come to Maine, I don't really know why I am here. I guess it was just somewhere to start." Percy replied. Artemis raised an eyebrow, curious; this boy was truly a mystery.

"Who told you to come here? Did the dreams tell you to come to Maine specifically?" She asked. Percy hummed in thought; he tried to recall his reasons for coming here in the first place. The dreams were telling him to make his way to Maine, so that a group of demigods could lead him home, but his home was where Kurama was. He now had a taste of what demigod life was like, and didn't really like it, but Kurama told him he had a duty to for fill in this world.

"A voice, in my head, in my dreams… told me that if I came here, I would find some way to get home. I've never known a place that I've called home before other than with my mom. I've always been on the move." Percy said. Artemis had to sympathize with the boy to a certain degree. The hunt truly had no home at all, they were always mobile. The whole world was their home in a sort.

"I think that voice of yours was telling you to return to Camp Half-Blood." Thalia spoke up. Grover nodded in agreement. Percy turned to look at them questionably. Kurama had once mentioned a camp called Camp Half-Blood, said it was a very risky place to stay. Demigods get sent out on quests all the time, and sometimes they don't come back at all. It didn't sound like a very nice home to him.

"She's right, you're dreams are probably telling you to return to camp. It's a sanctuary were all demigods can go for training and safety." Artemis said. Percy just scowled.

"My teacher mentioned that place… how children get sent out on quests, most of the time. It seems safe, depends really." Percy said. Thalia scowled while Grover didn't really understand what Percy was trying to say. Artemis narrowed her eyes, sticking Percy into the type of demigod group that classified as nature lovers. They spent their time alone and isolated in nature and didn't really crave for loud places like camp. She could already see Percy's dislike for a place like that.

"Who is this teacher you refer to? You're obviously very skilled, what's his name?" Thalia asked. Percy turned to her and scowled, knowing full well how well Kurama valued his privacy.

"That, does not concern you." Percy retorted. Thalia's eyes flashed dangerously as she stepped up to Percy, getting right in his face… however he didn't budge or look intimidated at all.

"You better speak up or we might just classify you as a spy for the Titans. Wouldn't want that now do we mister secretive?" Thalia taunted, her hands crackling with electricity. Percy scowled and narrowed his eyes at her.

"You are certainly quick to temper you know that? You're not very intimidating just so you know." Percy said with a mocking tone in his voice. Kurama was a much better at using intimidation than this little girl, despite them being the same age, Percy could already tell he was much better than her.

Thalia was about to blast Percy into the next dimension, but Artemis intervened, stepping in between them.

"Enough! Do not let your ridiculous father's traits and arrogance corrupt you both." She turned to Percy who seemed to be annoyed by Thalia's lack of self-constraint.

"We will speak of your origins, skills and knowledge later." Artemis said, making Percy nod and swallow nervously at her commanding tone. The one thing you never do is refuse a goddess's orders, especially Artemis. She then turned to Thalia whose electric blue eyes wanted to gain Superman's heat vision and melt Percy down to a puddle of boiling sea water.

"Calm yourself sister, do not lose yourself to our father's arrogant traits. He has his reasons, and I intent to extract them myself, but right now you must leave him alone." Artemis commanded. Thalia nodded, turned and stormed away, summing up in her head that tonight had been a disaster.

Artemis just sighed and walked off back to the camp her hunters had set up, knowing full well, that tonight… was going to be a long night.

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**Holy shit I am so tired right now. I need sleep and I was plagued by completing this damn pilot chapter. So basically this is a new idea. Probably won't be so popular considering Naruto will play a very minor role in this story. I know we all love Naruto but come on, Percy is cool too right? I mean when I look at the two and compare the two personality wise, they share a lot of similarities. It also irks me in such a way that Percy seems to get bashed quite a lot in some of those other stories. Once again, like I said in Team of Two with Sakura, I just don't get it, :/.**

**I might not update this for a little while, considering that this is kind of a One shot, but if it evolves then I might continue with it. I don't know, but I want to continue with Team of Two right now, so thanks for reading I guess. Man i'm tired.**

**Peace.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay so there was a lot of good positive feedback. Cool! I'll continue with this then. I'm still rather testing the waters with this story. Most of it is Pre-Written. If this is a bad thing then sorry. I do that with the majority of what I write. Basically if I want to write a story for FanFiction, I make sure that I get to a certain amount of words e.g. 70-80 thousand before posting the first chapter. I do this so I don't start a story and end up stopping at like 30k and disappointing all of you. A good read for me is a story around 80k with good grammar etc. Currently this story has up to 9 chapters and around 100k words, but it will be a while before I post those because they need to go through a editing phase and possibly a rewrite depending on whether or not I actually like the content. And seeing as I am constantly being slammed with Assignments and Exams at school, I have limited time to do this. I'm in my last year of school so this is the year that counts, so sorry if I prioritize my school over fanfiction :(.**

**I've come to realize that I suck at writing development for romance. I love the PerZoë Ship as much as the next person, but I'm not going to go and say i'm the best at writing it. It's quite weak, I'm sorry, but I hope that in the future I can learn how to better my romance writing to further development for characters. I try to keep the characters similar. I've seen the way multiple stories portray Zoë and the only one that I feel is remotely close to her center personality is Anaklusmos14's portrayal of her in Alternate Destinies. I have written her quite differently, and tried subtle way to ease her into her feelings for Percy. Which is pretty poor in my opinion.**

**Percy in this story is very inconsistent and he is written like this on purpose. He is a fourteen year old boy who has grown up in isolation and had a mentor that pushed him to his limits everyday. His human interaction is poor and thus he contradicts himself sometimes. I feel like this would make sense seeing as he is young and still learning how to cope with the world. He eventually starts to rectify this once he starts getting closer to Zoë. He's also very introverted and at times when angry, people will find it easy to get under his skin.**

**People will be wondering when Naruto will make his grand appearance. Not for a very long time, sorry. He is in this story, but when that time comes, I warn you now there will be a time travel factor. If that's not your thing, sorry. I don't like making Naruto the God of All Gods type of person who is immortal and roaming the universe somewhere. He died a human from old age way back and gave Kurama the task to keep the peace in the world. Kurama 'danced around that issue' because he had failed in the task Naruto gave him so long ago, and is now attempting to fix that. - an answer to a reviewer.**

**Anyway, enough with the babble, on with the story. Hope you like it ;).**

* * *

Chapter Two: Time to Wake Up

Percy sat on the very edge of the snowy cliff, his eyes closed and in sync with nature. He was sitting in a lotus position, his fingers only slightly touching above his lap. He wasn't in Sage Mode, but was more or less on the verge of connecting with nature and accessing Sage Mode. The bridge between it was what relaxed Percy the most as it balanced and cleared his mind.

He still hadn't quite mastered the forms full potential but yet he was still able to get the balance perfectly and hold it for short and long intervals depending on the situation. The longest period he could hold Sage Mode for in combat was about five minutes. While traveling, a couple of hours, or when he was like this right now, a few days at most.

Nature was a beautiful thing once you learned how to sense and feel it. To Percy, it was like an ocean… but everywhere, and everything. Everything Percy touched flourished with life and it was incredibly addicting. He wondered if this was what it was like to be an animal, or an ancient spirit like Kurama. To be able to sense this all the time would be absolutely amazing.

However, he knew he shouldn't rely on Sage Mode to save him in all of his battles. Kurama had told him that Sage Mode and Senjutsu techniques were to be used in the greatest of need, and a girl falling to her death classified that situation as dire. The fight with the Manticore was dangerous, and Sage Mode was recommended in Percy's opinion.

The Manticore, according to legends was a very powerful monster, and even then, Percy was able to match it with ease. Without Senjutsu, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to win that battle by himself. Plus he needed the practice with Senjutsu, it wasn't something you could learn so easily, even after all the time he had spent learning it.

A sound of crushing snow reached the son of Poseidon's ear, as it twitched ever so slightly. Percy snapped his head towards the oncoming stranger, seeing it as the Lieutenant of the hunters, Percy seemed to relax and return to meditating. Something about that Lieutenant seemed to draw his eye, he wasn't sure what he was feeling, but her natural beauty and the way she carried herself felt powerful.

"Lady Artemis wishes to see you boy." She warned and left without another word. Percy sighed as he got up and walked towards the camp site. As he walked into it, he noticed the wolves tended to growl at him for even trying to enter, but it seemed they were under strict orders that he was to be let in, as they remained at growling distance, eyeing him carefully.

Navigating his way through the maze of silver tents, Percy found Artemis's tent, which seemed to be quite obvious in making it known that it was her tent. It was the largest, and seemed to be made of silvery silk, a combination of the softest materials.

Once Percy walked inside, it was like walking into a castles main foyer area. The place was massive, and way over sized, no doubt fit for a god. On the throne at the end of the room was Artemis with Zoë standing next to her. Artemis seemed to be sitting on a throne made of animal pelts, stroking the head of a dear as it lay next to her.

"Welcome Percy Jackson. I must ask you to forgive me for my hunter's rudeness. It is not often a boy is found inside the borders of our camp. The last one, well, he's off somewhere living the life of a Jackelope." Artemis said with a smug smile. Zoë seemed to giggle which caused Percy's mouth to twitch slightly under nerves. Despite his calm appearance, he was actually sweating bullets.

"Ah, I see." Percy said simply. Artemis kept her smug smile, seeing as how her little story obviously unnerved the boy. However, Zoë returned to glaring at Percy like he was some kind of plague. Artemis got off of her throne and walked to Percy, started to circle him, examining him up and down, left and right.

"Is there something wrong milady?" Percy asked causing Artemis too scowl. She returned to face Percy, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Show me." She stated rather simply. Zoë seemed raise her eyebrow from her place beside her lady's throne. Percy frowned at Artemis's demand. Zoë seemed to wonder what Artemis was demanding from the boy. This seemed to be a shocking new side of Artemis that Zoë hadn't exactly seen before, especially since it was a boy she was talking too.

"Excuse me? Show you what? I do not understand." Percy said, his eyes briefly darting between Zoë and Artemis. The goddess seemed to get the message, however she was not pleased, not one bit.

"Zoë, please give us some privacy." She stated. Zoë's mouth fell open; wanting to protest her mistress's order, but the tone and look on Artemis's face told Zoë that arguing was not on the menu for today. She complied wordlessly, and walked out sending a death glare towards Percy. Artemis turned back to Percy and breathed out a sigh of relief before narrowing her eyes at the son of Poseidon.

"Show. Me." She demanded. Percy narrowed his eyes, but complied wordlessly, there was no way he was coaxing his way out of this one. Artemis had keen eyes, she was the goddess of the hunt after all, and it was only in her nature and power she was able to catch a glimpse of his Senjutsu. Percy gathered the Senjutsu and activated Sage Mode. Her reaction was nothing short of awe, shock and disbelief.

"I was right… my eyes were not playing tricks on me." She mumbled as she turned and walked back to her throne. She put a hand to her forehead as she sat down, she looked extremely annoyed and… jealous. Whoa wait, Artemis looked jealous? Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him. Artemis was probably one of the most skilled gods there were! What could make her jealous?

"I can't believe a demigod child is able to use and master the lost art of Senjutsu. Who was your teacher boy? He couldn't have been human; he must be some ancient spirit." Artemis said with a scowl. This time it was Percy's turn to scowl and fight back, he knew she was a goddess, but he was not going to let someone drag answers out of him after all the respect he had gained and had for Kurama.

"I'm not going to tell you his name, but yes, he is a spirit." Percy said. Artemis frowned slightly and adjusted her posture in her seat. She was not one to lose her cool, she was very calm and clear headed when it came to dealing with people, especially boys, but this boy… he was different. She could see confidence, and a little bit of arrogance, but she could accept that, everyone had arrogance, heck, even she could admit she was a bit arrogant sometimes, but this boy, Percy Jackson, was different from most males she had ever met, and she couldn't quite place as to why.

"I see. I will not force it out of you if you do not wish to speak about him. I will respect your privacy, but may I remind you that Senjutsu is not a toy. It is a power that can put you-"

"-Up around the power of the gods… yes I know, I was taught not to be reckless with it." Percy finished her sentence. She grinded her teeth silently, but put up with the boys growing impatience. Someone who could deliberately cut off a goddess in her own domain had some serious confidence, and she respected that, but she was not one to accept blatant disrespect.

"You spoke of dreams guiding you here. I can only conclude that your father has been trying to reach you and has been trying to guide you home. Tomorrow morning you will travel to Camp Half-Blood with my hunters and the other demigods. From there you can carve your own path, but be wary young son of Poseidon, as dark powers are waking, and no doubt your Senjutsu will be able to sense this." Artemis ranted. Percy nodded respectively as she nodded in turn.

"Now leave, I have many things to cover before morning. Be ready to leave at the crack of dawn, _sage_." Artemis said with a little hint of mockery. Percy smiled playfully, knowing that it was probably Artemis's way of teasing. Despite hating males, he knew that she could probably tolerate the ones like him… hopefully.

As Percy exited the tent, he was confronted by an angry looking Lieutenant whose volcanic eyes stared right into his. He narrowed his eyes back, trying to make himself seem not so easily intimidated, but he knew better, Zoë Nightshade was one of the older hunters, despite not looking the part, she was probably so old she could date back to prehistorical times.

"Suspicious men such as yourself should never get a private presence in front of milady. You should felt honoured boy, just because Artemis seems to trust you doesn't mean I trust you. To have Artemis talk to you in private was a real honour; don't expect it to happen again." She said. Percy's eyes narrowed. She definitely had a way with words, and he wasn't going to let her walk over him. Not by a long shot, it was game on.

"Your words are meaningless and wasted. I care not whether or not a goddess or god wishes to talk to me. I simply comply with their demand. It's a good thing you don't trust me, because I don't trust you, and people that I don't trust tend to disappear very quickly." Percy said fingering his celestial bronze knife. Zoë scowled. This boy had serious confidence to threaten her like that inside her own camp to boot. She almost had the temptation to smirk. It was like a game of cat and mouse, but who would be the mouse in this situation?

"Is that a threat boy?" She questioned sarcastically, Percy just smirked and narrowed his green eyes further.

"Maybe, depends who's asking." He said. Zoë grinned sadistically.

"You are different, interesting, but equally as bad as every other male I've ever met. Full of arrogance and over confidence, you won't last very long in this world." She said. Percy chuckled causing her to frown at his sudden attitude change at her insult. Normally other males got aggravated and annoyed, often lost their cool and would try to attack her, only to end up humiliated. She was so ready to take this boy down after sending out her bait, but he didn't catch the hook, instead she found herself in an unfavorable situation where he seemed to be in control of their little exchange of words.

"You seem to throw around words quite a lot. You speak of my arrogance and over-confidence, but have you evaluated yourself lately? I think you're a bit overdue because you think you're better than everyone else talking about me like that. I know myself better than you know me, and I'm pretty sure that I'm balanced." He said as he pushed past her. She didn't budge or turn around as Percy walked off, she remained silent.

"Choose your words more carefully next time huntress. I'm not arrogant I'm aware… I'm confident yes, but I am mindful of my own skills and limits. You don't seem to have that mind-set, which is a fatal flaw. Lighten up, and you might live longer." He said. Zoë spun around to retort angrily only to find the spot where Percy was just a second go, complete vacant, a mist of disturbed snow left behind.

"Interesting… game on Perseus Jackson, I'll make sure to grind your face into the dirt when I'm through with you." Zoë chuckled out before heading back to Artemis's tent.

* * *

Moving swiftly above the skin of snow, not making a single sound and barely marking the top of the snow with his foot prints, Percy walked with haste and determination. He just wanted to think for a while with no interruptions or any glares with killing intent aimed at him. He had almost let someone die tonight, and that in his book was unacceptable. With his power, he shouldn't have let that happen.

The way the Manticore moved so suddenly that it managed to catch him off guard even with his Senjutsu up bothered him. Maybe he was just so distracted by the hunters' arrival that he relaxed and let his guard down a little, enough for the Manticore to slip past his senses. It was enough to make the snow around the boy's footprints melt into a boiling water phase.

Percy went and sat down at the base of a tree and looked up through a small clearing in the trees and directly at the moon. With his green eyes, he seemed to drift out of focus as he stared at its majestic glow, the lights reflecting off the moon from the sun allowing his mind to rest at ease.

**"You can't save everyone you know."** A familiar voice sounded from above Percy. The demigod tilted his head backwards to look up, investigating the sound from where the voice was coming from. Sitting on a branch without a single care in the world, was his fox friend Kurama, sharing the beautiful sight of the moon.

"Kurama!" Percy said in surprise, standing up to greet the fox. The four tailed fox smiled and jumped down to greet the boy. Percy smile and sat down in a crossed legged position while Kurama sat a few feet away from him in front. Percy's smile turned to a downcast expression while Kurama rolled his eyes. Percy tended to do this a lot when he failed at something.

"I don't get it, I have all this power, yet I couldn't save one person from a monster. What did I do wrong?" Percy asked. Kurama chuckled as he stared back at the moon.

**"You were over-confident in your abilities to take control of the situation. It's one of the reasons why that boy I told you about, that he preferred to keep others out of his battles. He wanted to fight his battles on his own, to keep his precious people save and to hinder him less when he was fighting. As soon as those other demigods came in, your priorities switched without your knowledge, and you let your guard down."** Kurama said. Percy raised an eyebrow at this. It was almost hypocritical really, he had just told that Nightshade girl that he wasn't over-confident and arrogant, and that he was aware. Turns out he wasn't, much to the sadness of the demigod child.

"You were watching the whole time?" He asked. Kurama grinned but shook his head making Percy confused at how the fox knew exactly what happened.

**"I merely observed towards the end. I happened to be in the neighborhood. I was following those hunters, making sure they didn't get to snoopy around certain areas of the world. There are still powers here that the gods have no knowledge of, powers that should be left undisturbed."** Kurama said. Percy nodded, already knowing what Kurama was talking about.

Apparently, a long time ago, the land was changed when a certain kind of _Natural God_ tore across the land. Over certain parts of the land, there were many changes that were permanent, and Kurama had explained to him that his old friend left him in charge of this world to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. He had said there were many occasions where the hunters would stumble across some of these _places_ and got to curious.

**"And besides, I sensed you in the area and decided to tag along for the ride. I've been growing quite bored these last few months without you around Ningen."** Kurama chuckled. Percy rolled his eyes, there were only rare times when Kurama would call him by his name, he just seemed be called Ningen because it was some sort of pet name Kurama would use to people he liked.

"Well according to Artemis, I will be catching a ride with Apollo to Camp Half-Blood. Artemis is said to be investigating some kind of 'Beast', I'm not quite sure what it is yet, but I heard her mention 'The Great Stirring' whatever that means." Percy explained. Kurama sighed as he turned away from Percy.

**"The Titans are getting impatient. Their return is destined to come, and you'll play your designated part. However the Great Stirring is an annoying problem. It's a time when all the strongest of monsters awaken from their slumber… and one of them, is particularly hard to beat down."** Kurama said trailing off a little. Percy tilted his head.

"I take it it's one of the much larger powers?" He asked. Kurama burst into a hysterical laughter which slowly turned to a spine-chilling evil chuckle.

**"My one and only rival for pure brute strength and power… Typhon! Father of all Monsters, Storm Giant and last known child of Gaea, rival of the Great Kyuubi no Yōkō."** Kurama bragged. Percy stared wide eyed at his mentor. He knew his mentor was a powerful spirit but to rival Typhon? Even with all the Olympians combined it was a struggle to take down Typhon. The fox seemed to be a bit arrogant and over-confident himself.

"I keep forgetting that you're a spirit that's older than this world Kurama. Anyway, what do I do? Should I help Artemis or should I go to camp?" Percy asked. The smaller fox seemed to ponder that question. Even now days, things weren't as dangerous as they were in the Shinobi time period, but there were foes with incredible intelligence that rivaled the Nara's. Planning ahead and making sure Percy walking the right path was what Kurama worked to make sure happened.

**"You need to start growing up Percy. I'm not going to hand hold you for the rest of your life. Tonight was a fair sign that you need to get your priorities straight and start making smart decisions on your own. I know you're smart, you think on the move, always ready for the next challenge. Use your head Jackson. However, I will follow Artemis in secret while you head to camp. I will inform you if anything happens."** Kurama said as he disappeared into the forest.

Percy stared in the direction that Kurama disappeared in. It was the harsh reality that he needed to grow up. All those years of Kurama babysitting him and now he needed to grow up, he needed to make his own mark in the world, he needed to use the muscle inside of his skull to become a better person. If he was going to save the world and protect his precious people, he needed to mature more.

Percy turned and walked deeper in the forest until he came across a lake. As he walked onto the middle, he focused his powers and felt the ice melt under his feet. He dropped into the frozen water and sunk to the bottom. The icy touch of the water on his skin didn't bother him. He stared at the hole on the surface of the water, looking at the entrance he had made, the moon light reflecting off the surface and sending silver rays through the water, deep enough to reach his eyes.

It was time to wake up; it was time to grow up. What he does now would affect the world of the gods in one way or another, and already he had set things in motion. No doubt in a few days the whole world of the gods and the titans would be aware of his existence.

As he closed his eyes, he let himself drift off into a calm sleep of bliss, the icy water growing warmer around him as he unconsciously used his powers to accelerate the particles inside the liquid to heat them up. He was needed up for an early start, and he needed to be ready.

* * *

Percy's eyes snapped wide open as he projected himself out of the water, shooting through the small hole he had made on top of the frozen lake. He shot out of the water like a torpedo and landed solidly on top of the frozen surface with a large crack.

It was still dark, but he could see the light stretching across the horizon from the rising sun. Percy sighed as he willed his clothes dry along with his whole body and took off into a sprint back towards the hunter's camp. Once he got there, he found there was no camp.

When he looked around, he found that everyone had gathered near the cliffs edge. There was a large bus that was giving off heat and seemed to be steaming due to the coldness of the weather around these parts. It looked like Apollo had already arrived.

Percy made his way up to the bus and stood off to the side. He didn't really know anyone here that well so he felt very self-aware. He had nobody to stand by and that made him feel nervous, although he was very good at hiding it, he was very, very nervous. He also had a feeling he wasn't very liked.

Thalia kept glaring at him. The twins Bianca and Nico seemed to be wary of him. Grover was trying to approach him, and the hunters… well they just didn't like him, obviously because of his gender. So Percy just drifted off towards the back and waited for everyone to get onto the bus.

"Hello! You must be Percy Jackson, am I right?" A fairly handsome male spoke giving him a grin. The older man's teeth seemed to give off that cliché twinkle, like in a television ad for toothpaste or something. Of course this was Apollo, god of the sun haikus and prophecies.

"Yes sir." Percy replied respectively. Apollo grinned and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Percy was unsure how to react with this sudden physical interaction with a god. He wasn't sure if he had done something bad, or this god was just as casual as they could get.

"Now just where have you been? You've had Olympus tied in knot my man! You have been giving Uncle Poseidon the spooks kid! Glad your back." Apollo said as the god walked back into the bus and gestured Percy inside. Percy looked around and saw Artemis looking at him. Her yellow eyes closed and she nodded, silently telling Percy to go with him.

Percy looked further behind her and into the tree line of the forest, in one of the trees hidden by the shadows, Kurama was watching with a smile. Although Percy couldn't make out the fox's facial expression, he could tell the fox was happy for him. Percy turned and entered the bus and sat down in a seat of his own as stared out the window.

Apollo exchanged some words with Artemis before she bound off into the forest. Percy watched briefly as the orange speck in the distance tree line known as Kurama waited as Artemis disappeared into the shadows of the forest, before following in pursuit of her. Apollo got back into the bus.

"Alright kids, let's get this show on the road… or the sky… ha!" Apollo chuckled. Everyone groaned at his terrible pun.

The Camp wasn't as bad as it looked, in fact to Percy, it looked very homey. The camp was filled with tones of younger kids, and considering your life as a demigod, you're not really expected to live very long. He seemed to admit to himself that he would have make his mark here so people could trust him.

However Percy needed to recover from that terrible ride in the sun chariot.

Thalia the daughter of Zeus had been intentionally pushed by Apollo to drive the Sun Chariot, despite how many times she pleaded for someone else to drive. However in the end, Apollo had gotten the last word in as Thalia took the steering wheel.

Percy hopped for the sake of all drivers in the world that Thalia never gets a licence, because that girl could _not _drive. Heavy implications on the 'not'. He had to hold his stomach as he got out of the Sun Chariot that had been changed into a bus. He stumbled out along with the rest of the hunters. The only one that was not affected, was Nico di Angelo.

"Woo! That was awesome, can we do that again?" He looked at Bianca pleadingly. However he remembered that she had joined the hunters and looked down at the ground with sadness in his eyes. Percy frowned a little and went to stand by his side, he knew all too well how it felt too lose someone.

"I'm pretty sure no one wants to do that again kid." Percy said laying his hand on the little boy's shoulder. Nico turned and tilted his head, and gazed at Percy quizzically.

"You're that mysterious guy that almost saved that blonde girl. How did you do that? That was so awesome, but it was too bad she fell. She's a daughter of Athena right? If she's so smart why did she go throw herself off a cliff?" Nico pondered. Percy couldn't help but feel slightly amused and slightly annoyed. He decided to let it go, based on the fact that Nico was young and naïve, not knowing any better.

As the group gathered their bearings, Apollo had already made his exit and shot off into the horizon, leaving the group of hunters and campers on the shores of Camp Half-Blood. Percy looked around, seemingly the camp seemed pretty empty. It was summer break and most of the kids were probably spending time with their families. Fortunate, for some of them still to have family was a plus, some of the others, probably weren't so lucky.

"So this is Camp Half-Blood? Seems awfully modern, with a touch of Ancient Greece. Hmm, if there are Greek Demigods, I wonder if there are Roman-" Percy was cut off by Thalia brushing past him with Grover in tow.

"Come on Jackson, Chiron will need to see you immediately, along with Nico." Thalia said not even turning to look at him. Percy's lips curved into an unsure frown. Were all Zeus's kids so stuck up and always rude? If Kurama had been with her, he would have really knocked her down a few pegs, and that lieutenant of the hunters…

There was something there that really ticked him off about her, but also something he felt drawn to. She was strong, beautiful, smart and by the looks of her, incredibly athletic. She looked like she could run for miles without stopping for breath. With his Senjutsu, Percy's durability triples, allowing him to last longer in combat and long distance travel.

During battle it wouldn't last very long as he would have to focus to continuously draw natural energy from nature and sync it with his godly side, and human side, making him one with nature, enhancing every single one of his abilities. He was pretty confident he could take on Zoë Nightshade if the situation called for it, maybe even Artemis if he felt up to it.

Regardless, he shrugged and followed Thalia and Grover, gesturing for Nico to follow him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hunters move to their designated cabin. He thought for a second he caught Zoë glaring at him, but she just as quickly turned away and headed towards her cabin. Percy brushed it off, and continued to the Big House, where the camp director was located.

Walking through the doors of the big house, he was greeted by the legendary centaur himself, Chiron who was almost too stunned to speak. Percy Jackson, in the flesh, back after disappearing so many years ago.

"So you are aware of who your godly parent is?" The centaur asked. The three of them, including Thalia sat in the big house lounge, in front of the fireplace which burned brightly. Grover had taken Nico off to show him the camp introduction movie, what they normally show the younger recruits to the camp. Percy nodded.

"Poseidon is definitely my father. I can feel the ocean in my blood, wherever I go, it's always with me." Percy confirmed. Chiron sat back in his wheelchair deep in thought. It was a lot to take in. The boy that had Olympus tied in knots just suddenly reappears back into society after Hades attempted the assassination on him all those years ago. Although, the gods assumed it was Hades.

"May I en-quire to where you have been all these years? I can see you have been trained, just by looking into your eyes, I can see a fire that burns, a warrior's passion, the skill of thousands of men." Chiron evaluated. Thalia almost choked on her breath. Percy seemed rather surprised, but Chiron's stare was intense, examining him and judging his character with his old analytic eyes.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration…" She said looking at both Percy and Chiron. Neither of them looked at her, and she started to feel quite uncomfortable. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Percy. She was starting to get really curious as to what made this boy so special and so talented at combat. She had seen herself the feat he had almost pulled off at Maine, and she was sure it wasn't possible.

"I don't tend to exaggerate, maybe it is, but I can see it in his eyes. The thousands of heroes I've trained over the millennia, only a few, I can count on my hands, have had that same fire in his eyes. I do not doubt his obvious skill… but there is also something else there too." Chiron said. Percy grinned a little at the praise. It was rather true after all, he was trained by one of the great tailed beasts. Monsters of enormous power, from before the time of the gods, but he wasn't going to say that.

"I'm not going to confirm that, but I'd like to think I'm powerful in my own unique way, just like any other demigod." Percy said humbly. Chiron just smiled while Thalia just snorted and crossed her arms and looked in the opposite direction.

"Regardless, I'd take it you're staying in camp?" He inquired. Percy nodded.

"For the meantime, until I figure out what I'm supposed to do. I don't tend to stick around in the same place for a while. I like to move around a lot. I had these dreams and they lead me here. There's something I'm supposed to do here, I'm sure of it." Percy said. Chiron nodded wisely.

"Yes… demigod dreams are never really dreams, they are more like instinct or will… visions if you want to put it that way. If you wish I can grant you easy access in and out of camp at your leisure, but I would suggesting staying here, for your safety of course." Chiron said. Before Percy could retort, Thalia stood up in outrage.

"Wait, why does Percy get special privileges but not any other camper? That's not fair!" Thalia protested. Chiron glared at her.

"The reason for this is because Percy has survived for more than half of his life outside of camp and is perfectly capable of handling himself. He has no need for survival training or any of the training the camp offers. May I remind you Thalia this camp is meant to prepare young demigods for the viciousness of the outside world?" He said. Thalia had a downcast look about her as she looked at the floor, like she was being scolded by a parent.

"This camp is meant to protect demigods from the horrors that await them outside the barrier. Percy has survived and gained the skills that are needed to keep himself safe. He is already prepared because the outside world is his living environment, not the camp. Camp can be a second home for him." Chiron explained. Percy looked shocked. Chiron had hammered the nail right into the correct spot. Guess that's what you would expect from a millennia old centaur.

"Fine, whatever I guess." Thalia sat back down. She sulked as Percy regarded her briefly before turning back to Chiron. The old centaur looked at Percy with tired old eyes. Percy smiled sadly, reminding himself that Chiron was a hero trainer, he outlived every hero he trained, and he must be getting tired of seeing the demigods he trains get killed or eventually die of old age if their lucky to live that long.

Even Kurama seemed to have the same old tired eyes sometimes. Time always seems to wear people down, whether their gods, spirits, or even people like Chiron, gifted immortality by the gods. It was the one force that even manages to pull you down with immortality.

"Wow that was awesome!" Nico said bursting into the room with Grover in tow. Nico looked absolutely awe struck when he saw Chiron, the entire of the room's attention suddenly on Nico. Chiron regarded the boy with a weak smile as the boy ran up to him.

"Is it true that you use to train all those amazing heroes?" Nico asked. Percy smiled and took this as his queue to leave. He quickly got up and left the room before anyone even noticed. By the time they did, Percy was already long gone.

* * *

Percy sat outside his designated cabin, number three in the 'U' shaped row of cabins. Obviously Zeus was number one, and Hera was number two. Poseidon being in the power of the big three with one of the largest domains had the third cabin. Sadly Hades didn't even get a cabin which made Percy wonder.

He sat on a chair reading a book that he had gotten from the camp library titled 'Loveless'. It was a wonderful poetry book that got him thinking about life itself and the darkness that comes with living in this cursed world of war and hatred. People are selfish and greedy. So many cases all over the world where people have showcased their worst side, and it made Percy sad.

A presence in front of the son of Poseidon interrupted him, causing him to tear his eyes away from the pleasurable book. In front of him stood the daughter of Zeus, she was a lot more passive this time as she didn't have a murderous look on her face. She seemed rather intrigued instead.

"It's not often you see a son of Poseidon reading a book in his spare time. Most of the Athena kids do that kind of stuff." Thalia noted. Percy smirked as he slid his bookmark in and closed the book with a smile on his face. Truth was poetry and literature took his mind of the more serious and dark things that lay in front of him, in his future.

"Yeah well, I tend to read to take my mind of other things. It's a closure for me to help cope with the things that lie in my future. It's a nice escape." Percy replied as Thalia nodded understandingly. She sat down next to him and sighed as she ran her hands over her face. She looked very tired and exhausted.

"So what's your story huh? Care to tell me now or are you going to shut yourself off again?" Thalia asked generally interested. It was a sort of thing demigods had in common. Those who had clearly lost something before getting to camp was a common occurrence. On occasion some demigods were almost stoic and void of emotion when they stumble into camp. It gave Dionysus an actual purpose to serve his one hundred year punishment here at camp.

"My mother was killed in a car accident. She was taking me to school I think, and I remember a truck colliding with the side of our car just out of the corner of my eye. She saved me at the last second by using her body as a shield to protect me." Percy said rather stoically. Thalia looked down, feeling rather sad that she made Percy remember such a horrible event.

"I'm sorry." She replied. Percy brushed it off with a smile. He decided he would humor her with what his story was, however he was not going to spill his secret Sage training to her, which was a secret he had promised Kurama he would keep. It was up to the fox if he wanted someone to know.

"I was on the run most of the time from monsters. Mortal families would take me in for a few days before a monster would show up and try and kidnap me. Eventually I would stay for a day or two before running away again. I learned pretty quickly that staying in one place is a death sentence." Percy said. Thalia had to agree with that one.

"I was finally caught and then my mentor saved me, and took me away. You know the rest, I had dreams that told me to go to Maine, and so I heeded them and went there. Rest is history." Percy said rather tiredly. It was a long story, his training, many times he almost died, and many times he had wished those hellhounds had just finished him off. That training Kurama put him through was torture, but it had done the trick. Percy was officially a demigod you would not want to challenge. Thalia took this moment of silence to begin her own story.

"I ran away from my mother after my brother was killed. She was a drunk and didn't really care what happened to us. I found Luke shortly after that and teamed up with him. Eventually we found Annabeth. We were a three man team roaming the streets of America, which was until Grover found us." Thalia said. Percy felt sympathy for her story. In a way she had it worse than him. At least he found someone who taught him how to fight back, but Thalia, Annabeth and this Luke had no one.

"When we were getting to camp, we ran into a group of monsters that were about to kill us. One almost killed me, but to save me, my father decided it would be a dandy idea to turn me into a tree. I only woke up when, Annabeth, Grover and Clarisse managed to get the Golden Fleece after Luke poisoned me." Thalia said, depression and sadness lacing her tone. Percy scowled at this.

"Why would Luke poison you?" Percy asked with bewilderment clear on his face. Last time he check, friends that fought together would never even think of poisoning each other! That would be completely inhuman! Why would he do such a thing?

"He's since turned to Kronos. His hatred for the gods and their neglect was too great. Annabeth told me that it was during one of the quests when they were twelve, when they went to fetch my father's master bolt, Luke betrayed the camp and managed to kill a son of Hephaestus before he left. He's been causing all sorts of trouble since." Thalia said sadly. Percy clenched his fists. A betrayal like that could not be forgiven, it was heartless.

"That's despicable." Percy spat with venom. Thalia's eyes were red with pain. She looked like she wanted to cry at the memories she was remembering. Luke's back-story was just as horrific and sickening as hers.

"I just wish I was able to talk to him before he made that decision. Maybe I could have changed his mind." Thalia said, a small little twinkle of hope shining in her eyes. Percy saw this and let go of the pressure in his hands. Surely this Luke must have had a reason for doing what he did, otherwise he wouldn't have done it. It was something Percy felt he needed to investigate. Hatred for the gods was just one reason, there had to be an underlying motive.

"Anyway, the main reason I came over here was to tell you from Chiron that Capture the flag is tonight, we are versing the hunters. Currently they have beaten us more than sixty times in a row over the past century." Thalia said changing the topic. Percy raised an amused eyebrow at this, vanquishing the previous depressing feelings he had and focusing on the present instead of the grim future.

"That's quite a streak, though I am not surprised, with girls probably more than six hundred years old worth of experience, I am not exactly surprised. In fact it would make sense for them to win that many times." Percy analysed. Thalia yawned looking grimmer than she did before, apparently she didn't seem too keen on this little game between the hunters.

"However, let's see if we can end that streak?" Percy smirked looking towards Thalia. This time it was her chance to raise her eyes at that statement. A mischievous look on her face mixed with a tinge of curiosity. She knew that there was something off about Percy. His impossible display of strength and speed at Maine made her question what he had been through to gain such a skill.

"How did you do that? I mean back in Maine. You move at speeds almost impossible for a human, and your reaction time is flawless, right to the point. You even lifted Annabeth and that Manticore up when they were hanging off a cliff. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it." Thalia said. Percy smirked.

"My teacher taught me some interesting long forgotten skills. Very helpful, I still don't know the limits of the power that he taught me how to control." Percy said honestly. Thalia hummed to herself before she stood up and summoned lightening to her hand. Percy raised his eyebrow at this. What was she up to?

"Listen, I saw the reaction time you had. It was _lightning_ fast. I mean seriously, that was some serious speed. Let's test if you can dodge a lightning bolt." Thalia said seriously. She wasn't angry, but curious to see the power that Percy had displayed that he had.

Percy stood up and shrugged, activating Sage mode. It was a good test to be able to test just what kind of reaction time he had while in this mode. He knew he had very good reaction time, but he wondered about the limit.

"Alright, ready?" She asked. Percy nodded as he got down in a stance, ready to dodge the lightning bolt. He was ready. He could feel the pure lightening affinity inside of Thalia. He could sense everything around him and he could feel the power within the bolt she was holding. It wasn't even enough to singe him, and that was probably what Thalia was going for. She didn't want to hurt him, but test his speed.

She nodded and threw the lightning bolt. Time slowed down as Percy focused on the lightning bolt as it closed in on his chest. He watched its nature fly towards him at blinding speeds, but he could react. Nature was infused in his blood and enhanced his senses to a new degree. The bolt closed in, millimeters left till contact. Percy then twisted his body, moving out of the bolts path and watched it fly past him and it a tree behind him.

"Holy shit! That was incredible. No one can dodge lightening! That is an insane power Percy! With that kind of advantage, not even arrows could catch you off guard!" Thalia exclaimed. She didn't like Percy to begin with, but as she talked with him more, she could feel a hidden relationship and admiration build for him. She was happy he was on her side and not on Lukes'.

Percy was busy admiring his own reaction time. That was absolutely breath taking. He hadn't done that before, but he had to admit, that was an incredible feat to dodge lightening itself. What an achievement. He smiled back as he reverted from Sage Mode, giving Thalia a grin.

"Let's end the hunter's streak, time to take back the title." Percy chuckled.

* * *

The campers lined at Zeus fist. The plan was something both Thalia and Percy didn't exactly agree with. Splitting their strengths between both defensive and offensive was not a very good idea. Considering they were up against the elitists that were the hunters, it was a strange plan to send the stronger on offensive.

Percy knew for a fact that the strongest and most agile should stay on the defensive to stop the best hunters from getting the flag. Percy knew for a fact that the oldest hunters would be coming for their flag, and that included Zoë Nightshade. He knew she would be a challenge. Over two thousand years old, and all that experience would make her extremely deadly. However with Senjutsu he hoped he would be able to defeat her without much difficulty.

Percy stood back as the horn blew for the game to start and sat in a lotus position and activated Sage Mode, carefully analyzing the battle field. Within the first five minutes, their offensive group had been trapped and ambushed. They had fallen into every trap. It was only a few of the newer campers that stood behind and guarded the flag. Thalia had followed the plan with a grim scowl, leaving Percy as the only older boy guarding the flag.

Fifteen minutes into the game and still it was quiet, and that was what annoyed Percy. He knew the Lieutenant should have arrived by now, considering how fast and experienced she seemed. He wondered briefly if he had overestimated her. However it was only ten minutes later that blunt arrows it the weak spots of all the defending campers, knocking them out. The one that was aimed at Percy was caught in his hands without him even looking at it. His eyes snapped open, crimson animal-like eyes surveying the area.

Three hunters appeared in front of him, one with her hands on the flag, which happened to be Zoë Nightshade. She scowled at him as she ripped the flag out of the ground. Phoebe stood in front of Zoë protectively along with Ariana, who happened to be another older hunter. All three of them were smart and aware, they knew Percy was the biggest threat here.

Percy raised a single finger as a torrent of water erupted around Zeus's fist, trapping the three hunters within. It was a wall of water fifty meters high that stopped the hunters from retreating off the rock, effectively trapping them and restricting them from moving. Zoë's eyes widened.

"You pulled water vapor out of the air! No son of Poseidon can reach that far into Zeus's domain without being punished. What kind of demigod are you?" Zoë growled. Percy smirked as he waged a finger in front of her, angering both Ariana and Phoebe, and annoying Zoë.

"That would be telling Ms Nightshade. Now, who's going to be the first to try and get out?" Percy grinned. Ariana stepped forward, anger lacing her face and going read with rage towards the boy in front of her.

"You god damned, arrogant asshole!" She growled stepping forward, however she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder, courtesy of Zoë. Zoë shook her head making both Ariana and Phoebe confused at their Lieutenant's actions. Zoë narrowed her eyes at Percy. His crimson eyes, his natural sense around him. No doubt about it. Lady Artemis had mentioned to be wary around this boy, now she understood why.

"You're infused with Senjutsu. Attacking you one on one would be suicide, even for one such as myself. No wonder Lady Artemis was so cautious when she talked to me about you. You are extremely dangerous Jackson." Zoë said. Percy raised an eyebrow, a little surprised that she had managed to point out that he had Senjutsu infused with his godly side.

"So you know of Senjutsu? Then I guess you understand the risk of attacking me while I'm in this mode." Percy asked. Zoë nodded grimly. She was no fool. She was one to recognize power when she saw it, no matter if it was a male or a female. She was aware of her own abilities, and Senjutsu was not something to be trifled with.

"What's Senjutsu?" Ariana asked, growling and keeping her eyes on the boy in front of her. She stared at him with such distain and disgust that it almost bothered Percy somewhat as to just how much hate these hunters carried for the male gender.

"It's too much to explain right now, but think of it in this way. He is right as of now, just as fast, strong, agile and accurate as Lady Artemis is at her peak. One wrong move, and we all go down here. We have to attack him together." Zoë whispered between the two. They both didn't like to admit how powerful Percy was, but it was something they would have to do to win this. Percy frowned.

"It seems I misjudged your arrogance. I was hoping you would attack one at a time. Guess I was wrong." Percy said getting down in a defensive stance. He knew he didn't have to beat all three of them, but his main aim was to buy time for the offensive team to snag their flag. Beating them was a secondary bonus objective.

Ariana and Phoebe were the first to attack, flanking him on both sides. Zoë fired off three quick arrows, meant to knock the boy out. However the torrent of water that flowed around Zeus's fist aided Percy as an appendage of water flowed in the arrows path and caught them. Ariana went in for a kick to his guarded side, while Phoebe took out a hunting knife and went to slash at Percy's blind side.

Percy quickly reacted, bringing out his own hunting knife and parrying the dagger, all while blocking the kick from the other hunter with his hand, catching it. He twisted her leg, throwing her off balance, all while pushing off his parry, causing Phoebe to stumble back.

Percy took to the offensive, slamming a palm into Phoebe's abdomen, knocking the wind out her completely. Ariana had recovered gracefully, however Percy engaged in a lightning fast hand to hand combat. She match him with grace, but unfortunately, he was too fast for her. He hit a weak spot in her neck, knocking her out safely.

Zoë launched into battle, throwing herself at Percy. Percy found himself suddenly on the defensive, blocking and parrying attacks left and right from the aggressive huntress. She had grace, beauty and deadliness all in one package, causing him to actually focus on her muscle movement and body movement. The two locked in combat, evenly matched. Percy wasn't taking it seriously. If he had, he would have resorted to using Jutsu, but Zoë was going at him with everything she had. She would not be embarrassed by a male demigod.

"You seek to make a fool out of me? Why do you not fight seriously?" Zoë growled as she delivered a deadly combo with her hunting knives, only to be dodged and side stepped swiftly from Percy. He gazed at her as he continued to prolong the fight. Percy frowned as he looked into her volcanic black eyes. All he could see was hatred and that truly made him sad.

"I wish to understand your hatred. My teacher said that feelings are best told through fighting. It's the only time where raw human emotions surface. You're so full of hatred, I wish to understand why." Percy said as he dodged another swipe and caught another arrow, snapping the arrow in the process. Zoë growled as she continued to assault him.

"Understand me? What would you know? You're only fourteen years old, where I am over two thousand. What could you possibly understand about me? Why would you want to? I have nothing to do with you." Zoë glared. Percy increased his intensity, dashing forward and knocking her slightly off balance. She recovered and attack his legs. He back flipped away and disappeared from sight, appearing behind her.

"I grew up in isolation, with a mentor that refused to let me rest for more than a few minutes a day. I was pushed to my limits every day. I see pain in your eyes because I saw it in mine every day I looked at my reflection. You've locked away your emotions." Percy analysed. Zoë growled, her attacks getting more vicious.

"You should really mind your own business. What I do with my own life is completely irrelevant to you, so why don't you just shut up and fight me for real." Zoë spat continuing her assault on him. Percy sighed as he felt his control on Senjutsu slip. He glanced briefly and Phoebe and Ariana. The former was clutching her stomach in pain, while the other one was out cold.

Percy dropped out of Sage Mode just in time for Zoë to land a painful round house kick to his face. He hit the ground hard and skidded backwards. She looked at him both in surprise, anger and disgust. The fact that he let his guard drop deliberately and dropped the use of his Senjutsu. She only continued to glare at him.

"I don't know what fuels your hatred for males. I honestly haven't the faintest idea what kind of prejudice you have witnessed over the years, but I can assure you that not all males are despicable. There is such a thing as a good male." Percy sneered. Zoë just glared back, pulling out another hunting knife, allowing herself to duel wield her favorite weapons.

"If there is one, I have yet to see him. Do you think you're the one to change these views? Don't be so arrogant, you're the bottom of the barrel of the worst kind of male." Zoë spat with venom. Percy ran at her, taking out his hunting knives. They both clashed, sparks flying, her hate colliding with his curiosity.

"And yet this worst kind of male is readily willing to die for a couple of deities that probably don't give a shit about him, just so he can continue to keep what little peace there is left in the world." Percy said growled back at Zoë. He slipped and recovered, allowing Zoë to cut him in that little instance. However what he said caught her off guard, allowing Percy to trade blows, cutting her upper left cheek. The two jumped back to gain distance and glared at each other.

"What are you talking about?" Zoë said, confused as to what he was saying. Percy dropped his knives, they clanged against the solid rock. He clenched his fists as he got into a Taijutsu stance that she did not recognize one bit. It was strange but he was much more skilled and talented than she had previously analysed.

"I'm a weapon Zoë. The great prophecy. My only purpose is to train and train, become strong enough to make the right decision and make sure the Olympians don't lose to the Titans. '_A single Choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserver or raze.'_ I don't think I am fated to live past sixteen. So I don't care what you call me, I don't care if I'm the worst male in the world. All I care about is making the right decision and making sure all my precious people are safe." Percy said. Zoë was absolutely speechless. Sure she had seen demigods accepting their fate before, but this one…

Percy seemed to have it ingrained in his mind that all he was useful for was making a decision about saving the world, and then, he was done. Zoë knew, even if he was a male, there was more to life than just that. Zoë scowled, glaring at him with a hateful look. He sounded like a complete hypocrite.

"Listen to yourself you idiotic boy. A few nights ago, you were telling me to lighten up and here you are all glum and dim about accepting a fate that's determining your death before you even get past your sixteenth birthday. What kind of hypocritical statement is that?" Zoë said. Percy scowled a little at this before forming a few hand seals that Zoë didn't recognize.

"_Water Style: Hurricane Swarm!"_ He shouted. Water, wind and ice erupted around Zoë, surprising her and cutting her in all places, knocking her around until she hit the ground painfully. It felt like a swarm of cold angry bees had just stung her and ripped at her skin. She was in a lot of pain. She looked up briefly to see the Son of Poseidon's cold eyes.

Percy's heart was hammering away at his chest. What the hell was happening to him? Why did that comment get to him so much? Why did he refer to himself as a weapon? He had no intention of dying, Kurama didn't want him to die, and it was the reason why he was trained in Senjutsu. It was so he wouldn't die. His blood froze as he realized what he had just done.

Zoë was lying in front of him twitching in pain, bleeding in multiple places. He didn't mean to do that, why did he go that far!? How did he manage to lose his temper so fast? He thought he was in control of the situation, not her! How had he lost his cool so quickly?

For the first time since she had met him, Zoë saw something spark in his eyes that she didn't think she would ever see in the Son of Poseidon ever. She saw it if only for a split second, unbridled fear. A young boy trapped in a pathway of doom, and although he had a harsh exterior like her, she saw, just for that brief moment in his eyes, just how utterly terrified and scared he was.

Percy stumbled back, the water wall surrounding them collapsing. He lost his footing and fell off Zeus's fist. Zoë scrambled to her feet as she rushed over to the side to see if he was okay, despite her injuries that were inflicted by him. When she peered over the edge, he was nowhere to be seen. He had completely vanished. Her eyebrows furrowed as she sat back on her backside, her mind wandering.

The horn sounded for victory for the campers. She could hear the entire camp erupt in cheer. If she wasn't so confused with the boy that she had been fighting, her ego would have been extensively bruised and she would be sour, but she didn't feel any of that. Percy Jackson had beaten her, Phoebe and Ariana almost effortlessly, then when they traded words, he seemed to break down mentally afterwards. Something she had said, triggered something inside of him and she felt the need to investigate.

* * *

It was the night after the capture the flag match and Percy sat in a lotus position somewhere in the camp forest. He had since returned to the forest they had played their little game of capture the flag, and it had been since he had almost lost his cool with Zoë. She turned his own phrases against him, rendering him unable to respond accordingly.

Percy was never one to dance around words and negotiate. Words with him was as useless trying to talk a dog out of chasing a cat. It just wouldn't work the way he would want it to work. He seemed to always have to solve his problems through fighting, though he wished that sometimes, he didn't have to do that.

Percy then dug into his pocket and attempted to pull something out, only to find that it wasn't there. He panicked and looked around the ground where he was. He was just about to lose it once again when a hand held out the very thing he was looking for. He looked at it, then looked at the assistant who managed to get it for him.

Zoë Nightshade stood in front of Percy holding out a small photograph that was taken when Percy was four. He was giving his mother his very first present. He had burnt some blue cookies and gave them to his mother. She was smiling and giving the young boy a hug for his valiant efforts to bake cookies.

Percy snatched it from her and turned away, a single tear rolling down his eyes. He managed to pick up that picture when he revisited their old apartment in the city. The place was cleaned out before he managed to get there after all the time, but hiding somewhere in one of the cupboards, was this singular photograph. It was the only thing he had left of his mother anymore.

"I'm sorry for thy loss." Zoë said, a bit of her old English tone leaking into her voice. Artemis had taught her a while ago the modern day English language, despite how much she hated the ever changing language, she resided to her fate and learned the modern day terms. Percy sighed as he sat down again.

"Her life taken, just because of some stupid dispute with the gods. Sometimes I wonder why I'm trying to save those fools." Percy scowled. Zoë sighed as she sat down closer than she would have liked to Percy, but she felt the need to provide some sort of comfort. It was a part of being a human being after all. Percy shifted, gazing off into the darkened forest.

"Why should I try and save them when all they do is make things even worse. Whether they deserve the help or not, is something I do not know or understand yet." Percy stated rather sadly. Zoë continued to frown, refusing to even look at the boy as she sat next to him.

"You'll come to understand someday that most gods aren't worth the trouble fighting for, but more or less, their children and their innocence is worth protecting. Some of the gods themselves, excluding my lady Artemis, are not worth the trouble. However their rule is probably more ideal than that of the Titans." Zoë explained. Percy said nothing, but silently acknowledge her words.

"Thank you for returning the picture to me. It means a lot." Percy said rather stoically, before he got up and left without another word. Zoë narrowed her eyes, not bothering to look in the direction he had left. Her suspicious were slightly correct. He was emotionally troubled, and completely isolated. He is what she had once been like, and for some unearthly reason… it bothered her.

* * *

It had been a few days before Percy got into routine and he was heading towards his cabin. Tonight would be his third night at camp and the sun was beginning to set as Percy lay down on his clean bed in the vacant Poseidon Cabin. It was comfy and very homey as it was fairly close to the water. He could feel the natural energy in the air, and he could feel it even strongly coming from the soft waves of the lake.

It wasn't long before he drifted off to a comfortable sleep. However, that night, dreams plagued him as he found himself standing in a dark cave. He looked around, his chest tight as if the oxygen and been pumped out of him.

_"Where am I?"_ Percy thought softly as he walked through the cave. He caught sight of something strange and very familiar. It was the blonde girl he had failed to save on the cliff side the very night before. She was trapped under some sort of heavy shining object, her knees shaking under the strain and her very being looking like it was about to snap. It seemed almost impossible for her to be holding up such an object, but he couldn't exactly make out what it was.

Suddenly another figure entered. This female he recognized as Artemis, and she was beaten and bruised. She was shackled at the ankles and her clothes were torn leaving herself rather revealed. A large looming shadow stood behind her, shrouded by darkness. His powerful evil presence contaminating the area around them, invading even Percy's senses.

"You know what you must do, little huntress. She will not last long under there." The strong male voice echoed all around the black cavern they seemed to be standing in. Artemis turned and glared daggers at the shadow. She stared with all the hatred she could muster before she was pushed forwards to Annabeth.

"You will pay for this, I swear it." Artemis spat as she walked towards Annabeth. Her face turned to concern and pity as she offered a hand.

"Here young maiden, let me ease you of your burden." Artemis said. Annabeth looked up, her face red from the strain of the intense weight, and her blonde hair showing streaks of grey highlights in them.

"No… milady, please…" Annabeth said but Artemis would have none of it. The moon goddess eased her way under the rock and took the pressure full on, bumping Annabeth to the side. The blonde child of Athena crumbled to the ground, unable to stand and un-moving, already out cold from the exhaustion.

A booming laughter echoed the caverns as Annabeth was dragged away out of view. Percy was about to walk forward out of instinct before he was pulled backwards at the scuff of his neck by something soft.

**"Foolish Ningen, do not be so hasty. This is a mere vision of the present."** A very familiar voice sounded behind him. Percy's head spun to reveal Kurama hiding in the shadows of the cavern, the large looming shadow completely oblivious to the two tailed fox that had been tailing Artemis the entire way.

"Kurama! How did you get here, where are we?" Percy asked looking around. Kurama growled as he flicked one of his tails at Percy's face.

**"Silence your tongue. We do not have much time. Artemis has been captured and I'm trapped up here, unable to move. This place is heavily guarded and escaping means I would have to reveal myself. I am relatively safe for now, but you must get here as soon as possible. Mount Othrys in San Francisco. The winter solstice closes in and Artemis must be present for the council on Olympus, she is a voice of reason up there and without her, Chaos will ensure. Hurry Percy, time is off the essence."** Kurama spoke in a hushed whisper as the dream faded.

* * *

Percy shot up out of bed in a cold sweat. He felt cold and quite disturbed at what he had seen. His eyes glanced at the desk where all his tools and equipment lay.

It was only his third night here at Camp Half-Blood and already he was getting dreams about where to go now. Percy's fist tightened as he thought about his new destination. San Francisco, Mount Othrys, the Titan's Mount Olympus. This was a big deal, and he needed every second he could get.

Jumping out of bed and grabbing all of his equipment, Percy set off to the big house to confront Chiron about this new development. With his special bow on his back, hunting knifes at his side and his dark combat ready clothing, plus Senjutsu, he was ready to take anything on that stood in his way.

Percy darted to the big house and into the common room where he found both Zoë and Chiron in a rather heated argument, which was rather strange seeing as it was about three thirty a.m. in the morning. Do centaurs sleep? That wasn't exactly important right now.

Zoë stood up and glared at Percy, however he graciously ignored her and turned to Chiron. He had no time for petty tendencies and arguments right now, he needed to get to San Francisco as fast as he could.

"I must leave, right now." Percy stated. Chiron's eyebrows raised slightly as his gaze drifted between both Percy and Zoë. The huntress and the sage looked at each other menacingly. A hidden rivalry sparking in each of their eyes.

"For… what reason exactly?" Chiron inquired. Percy glanced at Zoë who was still glaring at him. She crossed her arms waiting for the answer to Chiron's question. Her powerful volcanic eyes burned holes into Percy's figure, but he didn't care. Kurama was much worse than she was.

"I had a dream. Artemis has been captured and my… mentor has been trapped where she is being held as well. I will be leaving at immediately, and heading west." Percy said. Chiron looked amused and surprised, while Zoë looked absolutely outraged at the convenience of the situation.

"Funny you should mention that. Zoë here was requesting the very same thing. I was going to say that she should consult the oracle about this, but since you seemed to have the same vision, why don't you both consult the oracle?" Chiron suggested.

"I will not travel with a male demigod." Zoë declared as she stood up. Percy sighed. He knew she had her pride as a hunter, and those little moments they had before where out of character for him, out of prying eyes that no one needed to know about. He didn't blame her, but that didn't mean he wasn't leading.

"If it's any consolation to you Zoë Nightshade, I don't intent to go anywhere with anyone. I'm leaving now, by myself. I do not need any help." Percy said. Zoë turned to Percy and scowled menacingly towards him. She just… couldn't figure out what drove this boy. For what possible reason was he going for!?

"What does this matter to you anyway? Artemis has been captured! This is a mission for the hunters. You do not need to concern yourself with this." Zoë said. Percy scowled and stood to face her.

"Did you not hear what I just said? My mentor is trapped up there with her! I'm going because it concerns me! I can do this with or without the hunters help!" Percy growled. Chiron started to rub his head as he felt a headache starting to come on. He could swear that those two had some serious issues to sort out. Zoë has never been this defensive and aggressive towards a male demigod before. Normally she would have just put an arrow in his foot and moved on, but now the old centaur could see general concern in her eyes for the boy in front of her.

"Then the hunters will rescue him as well. There is no need to go on a suicide mission stupid boy! Go back to sleep!" Zoë growled. Percy clenched his fists. Just… what was this girls' deal!? He couldn't wrap his head around her attitude! Where did she get off telling him what to do?

"Well excuse me _mom_. But I'm going with or without your permission." Percy said mockingly. Zoë spun and slapped him. Percy had to keep himself from bursting into tears of laughter. She was totally acting like a parent here. Even Chiron was rather surprised at her antics. She gaze at Percy menacingly, her volcanic eyes promising pain.

"You will stay here because it is safe for you here. If you leave the camps borders then you're begging to be killed. Senjutsu or not your still a fourteen year old boy. You need proper training." Zoë said maturely. Percy snorted.

"Yeah, right… this coming from a two thousand year old girl who got her ass handed to her on a silver platter by said fourteen year old boy. I'm not sure where you get off telling me what to do, but I'm leaving right now. Have fun catching up." Percy said turning towards the door and exiting before Zoë had a chance to retort. She was fuming by the time she had processed his statement.

"That stupid boy is going to get himself killed! I swear to gods when I see him next I WILL castrate him." Zoë growled, her eyebrows twitched. Chiron just sighed, a slight smile on his face. In all of his time here, he had never seen Zoë display such emotion when it came to a boy. She clearly had something in for that boy, and he could see it.

"Well, there's a first time for everything I suppose."

* * *

Percy found himself on the very borders of the camp. He stopped himself before he set foot outside the barrier as his thoughts briefly wandered. He felt rather guilty that he had brushed, insulted Zoë like that. It was not like him to do that, but something about her challenged his way of thinking. Of course, she was a hunter, and a female at that, but there was something about her that ticked Percy off in many different ways.

He would apologize for his arrogance the next time he saw her. She was much, much older than him anyway, he was only fourteen and he was getting all defensive when arguing with a millennia old hunter, possibly more. He was once again being stupid, and vowed to never talk to her like that again, despite the truths that he said.

The bushes behind him rustled as Percy spun around in the blink of an eye, a celestial bronze tipped arrow notched and ready to fire at that exact moment. The years of Kurama's acting on his instinct and protecting himself. A small boy with dark hair stumbled out of the bushes and right in front of Percy's feet. Percy raised an eyebrow at Nico.

"What are you doing up so late kid? You should be asleep." Percy scolded. Nico frowned sadly as he stood up and lowered his head. He then lifted his head, pleading eyes looking at Percy.

"I wanted to find my sister, but that mean old huntress scolded me for being close to the Artemis cabin. Since then I've been thinking, since I might not ever see my sister again, I want to train and become really strong. Like you! I saw what you did at the snowy cliff face outside our old school, and I was wondering if you could train me…" Nico said poking his index fingers together shyly.

Percy felt a conflicting desire to take this boy up on his plead, but another half of him egged him on to brush the boy off and go west as fast as possible. Percy had made up his mind, he was definitely going west tonight, but the look in Nico's eyes… he had seen that look once too, before… in his own eyes.

Years ago, when his training first started with Kurama. The eyes of a boy who had lost something precious to him, realising that he might not ever get a chance to recover it. Nico had lost his mortal parent, and his godly parent didn't seem to be helping him at all. He had just lost his sister to Artemis girl scouts, and he was a little boy alone in the world. Percy smiled.

"Maybe kid. I'll think about it, but I'm leaving for a few days. I'll be back much later. I'll probably take up your offer then." Percy said as he turned away. However a small hand snatched his before he could take the first step. Percy sighed internally.

"Please, take me with you. I can't wait, I need to learn how to be stronger! I don't want to stay weak like this. I'm defenceless and inexperienced." Nico sobbed. Percy raised an eyebrow at this, he could remember similar words coming out of his mouth in his early training with Kurama. Did that Fox abandon him?

Percy bit his lip. If he took Nico with him, it would slow him down greatly, and it would be a gigantic pain in his rear. He would be handicapped, and forced to look after Nico for the entire time. However on the plus side, he could teach the boy some things, help him learn his godly heritage faster and help him develop his powers and comfort zone faster.

"If I were to take you with me, you'd be in constant danger. The world is full of monsters that would take any kindling opportunity to kill you at a moment's notice. Plus I'm not… a hero okay? I'm not perfect, I have my flaws. It would be irresponsible to take me with you." Percy said, trying to convince himself. However he could tell this boy had some instinct. Something about his eyes…

Nico tugged his arm.

"Please… I understand all the risks. The camp though, I don't…." Nico paused, Percy held his breath, and the kid was just too much like him.

"… I've been here for three whole days, I even watched that introduction movie that Grover showed me. I watched the type of Heroes this camp has produced, and they were all… they didn't come close to what you can do. Please, training here in camp is would slow me down. I trust you more than anyone here, except my sister." Nico confessed. Percy spun around and gazed at Nico sharply.

"Why?" The son of Poseidon asked. Nico huffed.

"You were the only one that seemed to make an effort to save that girl on the cliff. You were the only one that actually tried. I saw it, all of it. I want… become strong so I can protect people from monsters like Mr Thorn. I want to protect my sister and all the people I care about, and I can't do that while I'm stuck here in camp." Nico said honestly. Percy blinked as he stared at the boy.

He didn't talk like a ten year old. Surely this must be some kind of sob story to get Percy to comply, but ten year olds couldn't lie like that, he couldn't just make out those kind of excuses on the spot like that, because those were his goals that he said to Kurama a long time ago. Those words came from the heart, the most honest words.

Percy smiled, a sparkle glinting in his eyes.

"Go pack kid, I'm leaving in five minutes. If you're not back here in time I'm leaving without you." Percy said turning away. Nico cried out in happiness as he raced back the Hermes cabin. Percy watched as Nico seemed to shrink into the darkness and completely disappear.

"Interesting." Percy analysed. He just might have a clue about who Nico and Bianca's godly parent was, and the name did not appease well to Percy at all. Not one bit. Percy sighed, but growled as he face palmed violently. He just made another really _fucking_ stupid mistake.

He had just brushed off Zoë, dangerously implying with his choice of words that she would slow him down, but then agreed to bring Nico along on his little adventure west. Why did he do that? He was blinded by the innocence in the boy, and the hidden potential in the boy. He felt like a big brother figure and leaving Nico behind didn't feel right to him, not after the way he begged him.

"Gods damn it. Start using your head you idiot." Percy scolded himself.

* * *

It was breaking dawn, very early in the morning by the time Percy and Nico had gotten to a comfortable spot. Being Demigods, they seemed to have a godly stamina built into their respiratory system. No matter how old you were, if you had godly power running through your veins, then you were already much more than the average human.

Percy set up camp while Nico got to his morning exercises to warm up for his training with Percy. He was ready, and he would never give up. He was going to see this through if this was the last thing he was ever going to do. He decided to put aside his little mythology game and take up arms, and in his mind, this was the first step.

They were about thirty miles out from Long Island, and closing in on New York, where they were to follow the trail that Percy had been following, secretly using his Senjutsu to follow. He was following a practically rich chakra scent that Kurama had left behind for him to follow, to help make his way to San Francisco.

Nico wore black track pants, a black tank top t-shirt and black sneakers. Apparently his favourite colour was black, go figure. His scrawny white body showed that the sun wasn't a favoured aspect of the boy's body and that he probably didn't really like it, but Percy was going to change that. From what he could figure he had seven days until the winter solstice, and he was going to turn Nico into a feared demigod warrior. First however, he needed to check something.

Percy dug through his bag and pulled out a slip of paper, and handed it to Nico. The boy in question narrowed his eyes at the paper and took it without question.

"Close your eyes and think of your favourite things… hobbies, movies, food… stuff like that." Percy said. Nico did as instructed. In about thirty seconds the paper seemed to crinkle and wrinkle until finally it dropped into a dust form and blew away in the wind. Percy sighed as Nico opened his eyes.

"What was that? What does that mean?" Nico asked. Percy gazed at Nico, troubling thoughts coming to his mind as he looked the boy up and down. He definitely fit the profile of that kind of demigod.

"The paper was to determine what kind of powers you have. Your godly heritage so to speak. It's rather hard to keep track of them all since there are many gods but I know the collective amount. If the paper emits a spark then catches fire… you're an offspring of Zeus. If it becomes wet and moist, with a smell of salt, then Poseidon." Percy paused for a moment. Nico looked at him to carry on.

"If it shrivels and crumbles to dust… Hades." Percy said pointing to the dust that still seemed to hang around the air in front of Nico. Nico looked at it for a moment before his eyes widened.

As if on cue, a large symbol appeared above his head. A symbol that looked like a Helmet, which was the symbol of Hades. The Helm of Darkness. Percy chuckled slightly as Nico looked up in awe.

"Nico di Angelo, it appears that you are a Son of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, God of Souls and holds dominance over Darkness and Shadows. Interesting." Percy said with a chuckle. Nico looked like he had walked into one of the greatest amusement parks in the whole world. The look on his face was pure excitement and joy.

"Wow! That's so cool! Does that mean I can summon zombies and dark evil spirits… oh! Oh! What about slaying evil spirits? That's so cool, my dad is so cool! He's-" Nico stopped when he saw Percy standing in front of him with two swords in his hand. The son of Poseidon had a small smile on his face.

"Here." Percy said chucking Nico a sword. The boy caught it and lifted it up with two hands. It was quite heavy, despite the sword being a one handed, but Nico was still a small kid. Percy smiled as he walked forwards towards Nico.

"We have about two to three days before the campers set out their own quest. If we're lucky, then three. The hunters will be coming as well. If you're going to make a contribution to this journey, I need you to be strong, willing and most of all; smart. Since we're demigods, our muscles, bodies and minds tend to adapt quicker than humans… much quicker." Percy said. Nico looked up at Percy.

"What are you aiming at?" Nico said stepping back a little. Percy stepped forward, closing the space between them. The son of Poseidon smiled, almost sadistically.

"It means, training and muscle development can skyrocket with hard, long and intense enough training methods, and it's only better when you're a decedent from one of the big three gods, Hades, Zeus and Poseidon. They say our smell is more powerful, but that is a negative, and when there is negatives there are positives too." Percy said. Nico quivered a bit.

"Percy, what are you trying to get at?" Nico asked. Percy only chuckled in response.

"What I'm getting at, is that in three days, I'm going to train you at a level that will make it seem like you have been training for three weeks. Non-stop." Percy said. Nico gulped heavily. Suddenly having second thoughts about his decision. Three weeks of training in three days? That was… impossible, wasn't it?

"So in the meantime." Percy stepped forward. Nico took a few steps back and pulled up the sword, his instinct telling him to defend himself. Percy smirked sadistically.

"Try not to die."

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, that's chapter two. Might rewrite it later, add a few things, change a few thins depending on the feedback. This story is a story that I am writing purely for entertainment purposes.**

**By the way, been meaning to ask this. Why do people put disclaimers on the top of their stories? This... is a FANFICTION site right? I don't understand why people do it. **

**Too lazy to say anything else. I'm exhausted. Will answer to clear things up. **

**Kay Thanks Buh Bye, see you whenever i decided to do the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I felt like it was time to release this new chapter considering I have been doing nothing but playing anime games such as Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 on steam. Man that is a cute game. Addicting too, get it if you have steam. I recommend it if you love turn-based genre and cute little sisters.

Anyway, yeah this is a thing. More story for those of you who like this so far, hopefully you guys like it. If not, then oh well.

Percy is still growing and feels like the whole world is against him, just like every thirteen year old or fourteen year old. I know I was like that. He's isolated and alone, destined to save the world. There's got to be some serious pressure like that right? Unlike cannon, he has no one to share that burden with so obviously he's going to crack under pressure soon. He's not perfect, far from it.

Percy may be more powerful than Zoe, but she is a lot older than him and more experienced than he is. He may have her outclassed in battle, but in intelligence, she's better. This is the contrast I'm trying to create, however she will be getting her power up later on, and trust me, it's gonna be great :D. Artemis will play a large role in this story. I really like her character and wish it was explored more in the cannon series, thus she will become 'part of the main group' in this story. Nico is also going to play a larger role than he normally plays. He's also one of my favorite characters.

Things are going to be pretty crazy soon as I start to introduce some enemies from Naruto that will seriously influence and change the way the Percy Jackson story will come out, especially when I get round to writing the HoO part, if I decide to go that far.

By the way later, if anyone is interest enough to do a 'Olympians and Demigods read' of this story, which would be cool because I would totally read it, just PM me if interested. It would be pretty cool :). Anyway, on with my shitty past-time story.

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Long Way West**

New York City. It was a place to be amazed by at every single turn, but Percy Jackson had other motives than sight-seeing. Coming all the way from Long Island was a tough and annoying trip since he was dragging Nico along for the ride. The young Hades spawn was tired and his body was starting to show some physical muscle to it. Still Percy felt the logical side of his personality screaming curses at him for bringing Nico along.

It was a strange training that Nico had completed, something Kurama had come up with suppose-ably over the thousands of years he had been alive, but Nico was still far below the level that could rival any camper, but this trip should nullify that and give him the experience he needs. At least that was what he hoped. Kurama had once said that no training can prepare you for what awaits you on the battle field… that is where true iron wills are born.

Nico looked dead on his feet. He had been pushed to his limits by Percy's constant motivation and training, but Nico's personality had done a complete one eighty since he started on this trip with Percy. When training with Percy, the son of Poseidon never once used an ounce of Senjutsu, because Nico would crumble before he would even manage to get his guard up.

Instead Percy settled for regular Kenjutsu training which in Kurama's wise words, was sword play. Percy new a number of different stances and Kenjutsu styles which Kurama taught him. The fox had claimed that the people he was close with thousands of years ago were sword masters, and that heroes these days such as Hercules and other mythological heroes were nowhere near the caliber he has witnessed in his long life.

Percy's trusty celestial bronze sword which Kurama had given him a long time ago was excellent for Percy. It was the perfect weight, sharp edged and incredibly easy to swing and manipulate to his consent. What confused Percy was the swords origins. He knew it was no normal sword, and within the sword he could sense the power of the ocean when in Sage Mode. Kurama said it had been given to him by the only Goddess he trusted and knew well enough to keep his existence a secret. Her name was never told to Percy, which left him thinking.

The sword was called in modern day terms, Riptide, which was also called Anaklusmos in Ancient Greek, and when in its dormant form, it retained the visual appearance of a normal ball point pen. At first the whole idea seemed ridiculous to Percy, but then he clicked the pen and almost cut his fingers off for the first time. However, as good as he was with a sword, hunting knives and a bow and arrow were his preferred choice of weaponry or Taijutsu when it came to using Senjutsu.

Nico really liked his sword, and stuck close to his choice of weapon. Knives and Swords was his style, unlike Percy who liked all sorts of combat styles. Kenjutsu plus Sage Mode equaled utter destruction. Percy remembered the time he cleaved a couple of boulders in two with a single swing. He was surprised the bronze sword held together after such vicious collisions with solid rock.

Percy sighed as he and Nico walked down the streets of New York, the child of Hades remaining silent as Percy would constantly jump in and out of Sage Mode to constantly follow the godly trail Artemis left behind. Kurama wasn't really stuck on Mount Othrys, he was monitoring Artemis since she was the nosiest god of the Olympians. However staying in the Titan Fortress allowed for him to make sure she came under no harm. Kurama also noted that he was doing his best to keep Annabeth safe.

Percy and Nico found themselves standing outside of a building, a national history museum. Inside Percy could sense a godly presence, which didn't limit it to any of the Olympians. A godly presence meant that either a Titan was in there or a God, and he had a feeling it wasn't any of the Olympians.

"Stay here, I need to check something out. If anything happens, you know what to do." Percy said and adjusted his hood, walking inside the building before Nico could even protest. Nico just sighed as he leaned against the wall and fingered his bracelet, which would turn into a sharp celestial bronze sword at a moment's notice.

* * *

Percy carefully maneuvered his way to the center of the building. Slipping past the mortal guards without so much as a sweat, he continued on. Since the building was closed down for a special event, there was extra security put up to make sure nobody would get in. However they didn't count on a boy who had been trained by a spirit who since knew and lived through the ages of shinobi.

The darkness was his ally in this situation as Percy got to a comfortable spot and examined the area. His instinct was right when he found the entire place crawling with monsters of various shapes and sizes. The mortals didn't seem the least bit concerned so the mist was obviously doing its job. Olympus only knows what they saw instead of the mythological beings that were walking around before them.

Looking around, the young son of Poseidon's eyes caught a familiar sight and scowled. Dr Thorn was walking around on the top balcony with another demigod who seemed much older than him. From the looks of the boy, he wore a permanent scowl and seemed to tremble every time a supposed upper ranked monster glared at him.

The feeling in his gut told him to get out of there, but another feeling told him to stay and gather as much information as he could, as every piece of info was vital to rescuing Artemis and getting to Kurama. He narrowed his eyes as he moved out of his spot to try and get a better position to listen in.

Moving to a different position much closer to the balcony that Thorn and the mystery demigod were standing on, he managed to listen in on what they were saying. Remaining deadly silently, and very still, Percy listened closely.

"How are we supposed to get anything done if you can't do your job? The General is not going to be happy about your failure Thorn. You know how impatient he can get." The demigod said. Thorn growled at the boy.

"Do not underestimate me Castellan! Just because your Master Kronos's pet doesn't mean you get to order me around to talk down to me. The General may not be pleased about the stupid girl I brought him, but it was more than enough to lure that bitch Artemis right into our trap." Thorn replied with a snarl. Percy just narrowed his eyes.

"The fact remains that you were tasked in get the Di Angelo siblings. You failed in your task and brought us Anna- a child of Athena. What help is she going to bring us?" The demigod replied. Thorn growled as he turned to demigod threateningly, the demigod backing away, ready to react with his sword if need be.

"I would have been successful if that ridiculous child of Poseidon hadn't gotten in the way. Your sources told me that Percy Jackson was dead! Kronos and all of our spies have reported that Percy Jackson had died years ago!" Thorn roared as the entire building went silent. Luke was speechless, however a different voice answered the enraged Dr Thorn.

"Silence you insignificant cat hybrid. You disappoint me." A deep, steal cutting voice came from the darkness from the other side of the balcony. Percy paid extra attention to the new addition to the conversation. The man that entered the scene looked like some kind of large body builder in an army outfit. He was ripped in every sense of the word, not an ounce of fat on the guy. His cold grey eyes, were like stone and his appearance was downright threatening! The aura this man was outputting was almost enough to send any man running!

"G-General! Apologies my lord, I had no idea that-" Thorn was cut off by a tight muscled hand wrapping right around the manticore's throat and effectively squeezing the life out of the poor monster. Percy's eyes widened at the speed this man just displayed. He was in one spot and the next he had his grasp around that monster!

"I don't need failures in my army. Kronos has no time for petty creatures that cannot achieve such a simple task." The General dropped the monster who gasped for air as soon as he was released from his grasp. The General then went and sat down in a chair that was prepared for him, then turned to the demigod who seemed to be in charge.

"Luke Castellan, what news from camp?" He asked. Luke cleared his throat and bowed.

"My lord, our sources tell us that a quest as already been issued and your daughter Zoë-" Luke was cut off by the Titans booming voice shaking the foundations of the building.

"Do not mention my traitorous daughter's name!" The General boomed, shocking Luke and shaking the poor son of Hermes to his very core. The large man growled but calmed himself down as he once again looked at Luke to continue. Luke shook himself out of his daze and bowed again.

"Apologies my lord, her companions are as follows: Bianca Di Angelo, Grover Underwood, and Thalia Grace… and of course, your daughter who is leading the quest. They are expected to arrive in the city tomorrow." Luke said. The General hummed.

"And what of Jackson?" The large man asked. Luke scratched his head and frowned, which earned a growl out of the General. Percy chuckled a little bit from his spot. He had been taught to cover his tracks. It was one of the very important guidelines that Kurama made him follow. Never trust anyone, in a world of lies, deceit and greed, the only people you can trust are the people who are willing to look you in the eye and tell you they are ready to die with you.

"We are not sure sire. He was seen in camp for a day or two before disappearing completely along with the younger Di Angelo sibling. The elder sister has only joined the quest in the hopes of finding her missing brother, and proving herself to Artemis." Luke said. Percy hummed to himself. It seemed the camp had a traitor among-st their campers and judging by the information that was given, they were part of the council.

Just then, a large group of monsters entered through the balcony entrance carrying a beaten and wary looking Nico Di Angelo. The boy was in a haze as he was dropped in front of the large form of the General. Thorn looked absolutely stunned as he gazed at the boy he was tasked to capture.

"We found this young-ling snooping around outside mi-lord. What shall we do with him?" One of the monsters snarled poking the boy with its claw. The General leaned over and examined the boy, looking up and down before smirking.

"What is your name demigod?" The General asked, a low commanding tone in his voice. Nico quivered as he left all the eyes of him. Percy from his hiding spot balled a fist, the situation suddenly taking a turn for the worst. He shouldn't have left Nico on his own. It was irresponsible and reckless!

Nico didn't dare to answer. Percy was in here somewhere and somehow he didn't think the son of Poseidon was going to save him. Gathering what courage he had left, he stared down the General and refused to answer, earning a hearty laugh out of the Titan in front of him. However the Manticore seemed to answer the question for him.

"Nico Di Angelo!" Thorn snarled as he stalked towards the boy menacingly before being stopped by Luke. Thorn snarled at the boy like a rabid animal, waiting to chow down on his meal. The General turned back to the young child of Hades who had since stood but, but shaking in his shoes. Before the General could speak, Luke decided to speak up.

"Hold on, if he's here. Then where is Jackson? They disappeared on the same day. Could that mean Nico is traveling with him?" Luke said. The General seemed to take heed of the implication and looked around. The Titans lip trembled with anger as his booming voice once again shook the foundations of the building.

"We may have an intruder! I want every corner of this building checked in the next five minutes!" The General shouted, shaking up every guard and monster as they launched into action. Search and Destroy was on and Percy was now the hunted.

"Shit." Percy cursed as he silently remained still and gathered Senjutsu chakra. He would need to be in his top form if he was going to get both himself and Nico out alive. Just then, a monster came around the corner, stumbling onto Percy's hiding spot. Before the monster could even let out a squeak, a bronze kunai was flung at such speed and accuracy that it pieced right through the monsters brain, turning it to dust instantly.

Percy sped out of his hiding spot right onto the balcony just in time for Thorn to turn and see him. However, he was turned into Percy's personal vaulting table as the son of Poseidon dashed towards him delivering an upper cut right to the manticore's jaw. At the same time, Percy used his sage chakra to latch on and pull himself towards Thorn and vault of the manticore's upper body.

Percy dive rolled and tackled Nico into the ground and quickly lifted the light boy over his shoulder. With Sage mode on, Nico was as light as a feather. Since Percy's hood was still up, nobody could see his facial features properly, keeping his Senjutsu a secret.

"Jackson!" Luke yelled, charging at the boy with sword in hand. As Luke brought down his sword, Percy caught it with his off hand and squeezed tightly, shattering the sword with ease. Luke was too stunned to even react to the oncoming foot that was planted in his abdomen, sending him flying backwards about thirty meters.

Percy then turned to the General whose expression was not anger but curiosity and interest.

"A mere boy with inhumane strength. What an interesting day this has been. Percy Jackson I presume?" The General asked with amusement. Percy sneered and turned away and jumped on the balcony railing, around a hundred monsters waiting to devour them below. Nico's eyes went wide and his face paled heavily.

"Have you lost your mind!? That's at least eight stories high!" Nico screamed. Percy just chuckled as turned his head to face the General who was still looking at Percy with amusement and curiosity.

"I'd love to stay and chat General, but I have a goddess to save and other things to do. Ja ne." Percy said, adding the Japanese on the end for a bit of fun. Kurama had taught him Japanese claiming it was the original language that graced the earth a long time ago. Percy had to admit, he kind of liked the language, and it rolled off the tongue nicely in his opinion.

Percy then walked off the railing causing Nico to scream in panic as they supposedly fell to their deaths. Percy landed elegantly on top of a monsters face, warping it painfully for the monster that was Percy's cushion for his fall. The fox sage then proceeded to play hop-scotch with the monsters, jumping from one head to another, getting closer and closer to the entrance of the building.

In a few seconds, Percy and Nico were out of the building, just in time for Sage mode to fade causing Percy to drop Nico to his feet. Nico was about to protest but Percy was already running.

"Come on Nico!" Percy yelled to the young boy behind him. Nico sucked in a breath and took off after Percy running down the sidewalk, weaving in and out of pedestrians and citizens. Nico followed behind Percy as the two ran into a subway stations, instinct telling them that they'd lose the monsters down here.

"We're going to catch a train?" Nico asked as he finally caught up to Percy who was now in a fast walk. Percy kept looking behind them, making sure there were no monsters following them. Secretly he had made a water clone out of his Senjutsu chakra he managed to gather before he started running. The water clone should have dispelled by now.

"Yeah, going west. We need to get to San Francisco in the next few days. We got four days left. No doubt the quest group not too far behind us." Percy said. Nico raised an eyebrow and looked at Percy quizzically.

"Quest group? What are you talking about? Percy I don't understand what's going on!" Nico sulked sadly as the son of Poseidon sighed and rested a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Kid you're going to learn very soon, and surprisingly you should have learned already that many things in this world don't make sense." Percy said. Nico batted Percy's hand away, earning a couple of looks from people around them.

"I fight off some monsters, get captured and then you carry me and jump off an eight story balcony and somehow survive. I know I'm new to this but some things like jumping off and eight story balcony should still kill us. I'm not stupid, mythology aside were still human and that fall should have broken your legs!" Nico groaned holding his head, feeling a headache coming on.

Percy looked around, seeing a group of people parting for something that didn't look very human. A growl escaped his throat as he grabbed Nico's hand and jerked the boy out of his sulking mood.

"Come on, we have to go now." Percy said walking towards one of the trains that was scheduled to go west in less than five minutes. Percy and Nico walked up to the guard, standing by one of the doors, and before the guard could say anything Percy snapped his fingers in front of the man's face.

"We have tickets, and our business is our own." Percy commanded. The guard seemed to stumble a bit in a daze. He looked at Nico and Percy and smiled softly.

"Well on you get then lads. The trains almost packed!" The guard said. Percy smiled and walked through with Nico, just in time for the doors to close and the guard to shake out of his daze and turn to see the two kids he had just let pass walk through with no tickets.

Before long, the monsters that had been chasing Percy and Nico arrived at the door just in time to witness them get away as the train started up and left the station, going west. They growled and silently headed back to their master to report their failure.

* * *

The train ride had been rather slow but eventually Nico and Percy had ended up in a small town in New Mexico. It was rather cold and quite a dull boring town. A few shops, but the trail that Percy had been following leads straight through the wild, and on foot with Nico with him. Percy knew it would be tiring and slow. So looking around for a car rental place would be difficult in a place like this.

It seemed luck was not on Percy's side today, as it seemed they had no way of advancing forward. Sitting in the coffee shop, both Nico and Percy discussed their next move over coffee. Nico didn't like the taste of coffee, while Percy quite enjoyed it. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, although that was probably because of the warm liquid warming up his freezing body. He didn't want to use Sage Mode right now just to keep warm because it attracted too much attention.

"We've hit a dead end. How are we supposed to keep going? The next train to San Francisco is in three days and we can't afford to waste time sitting around." Nico said causing Percy to sigh. The boy was adjusting quite well to the demigod life. It definitely took Percy longer to adjust that was for sure, even with Kurama as a teacher.

Percy knew he could get there in a day with his enhanced speed but he had Nico here and he would be damned if he was going to leave the boy behind, and after telling Zoë that the hunters would slow him down, and then bringing along Nico was very hypocritical of him.

There just had to be another way to continue on down the trail west, and since there were no car rentals in this area they weren't going anywhere. Percy sighed as the bell on the door rang, signalling that there was someone else in the coffee shop.

Percy looked over unconsciously only to find himself looking at someone very familiar. In fact it was two people that looked very familiar to the young son of Poseidon and the youngest son of Hades. It happened to be the Satyr Grover Underwood and Bianca Di Angelo, the older sibling of Nico. Her eyes widened when she saw Nico.

"Nico!" She squealed as she ran over and embraced her younger brother in a hug. The young boy scowled slightly and accepted the hug grudgingly. He was still very angry at his sister for leaving him for the hunters of Artemis but he could never hate her, not after what Percy taught him. Family was everything. Bianca pulled away looking relieved that she had found her little brother.

"Where have you been!? I've been worried sick about you!" Bianca asked with concern in her voice. Nico just looked away, refusing to meet her eyes. Bianca just sighed as she dusted the boy off.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Now that you're safe we can make arrangements to get you back to camp." Bianca said as she stood up to walk back outside, while holding Nico's hand. Instead she only found her hand being battered away by none other than Nico's. She looked at him with shock.

"No way! You think I just came all this way to go back because you told me to? No! I came to help Percy and that's what I'm going to do. Because that's what family does!" Nico shot right back at Bianca. She flinched at his words, the boy's harsh words stabbing at her heart, her betrayal fresh in her mind.

"I came out here for a reason, and I intend to see it through." Nico said turning back and sitting back down with Percy. Grover and Bianca had only now just noticed Percy sitting at the coffee both drinking his coffee casually. The two looked at each other before approaching Percy to see what he was actually doing here.

"You're here with my brother aren't you? You're the one who took him?" Bianca asked cautiously. She remembered what he had done in Maine that night, and she knew if she got on the wrong side of him, he could probably kill her with ease. Percy was not your average demigod for sure, especially after what Chiron had told them before they left on the quest.

"For your information, I didn't make him come. He came on his own free will. He has a goal in life now and I intend to help him achieve that goal, because we both share the same views." Percy said simply and sipped his coffee. Grover raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"What do you mean? Can you explain?" He asked. Percy gently put down his coffee and stared at the two, making them shift comfortably.

"We both seek to become strong enough to protect those who need it, and those who are precious to us. That's all." Percy said. Bianca seemed to scratch her head at this reveal. If that was the case then what were they doing here?

"Why are you heading west? Are you trying to save Artemis?" Grover asked. Percy sighed.

"No, I'm not." He replied. Now both the quest members were confused. What was he doing on Artemis's trail if he wasn't trying to rescue Artemis? Like reading their thoughts, Percy decided to answer the one question that was on their minds.

"There is someone else up there that I need to help." Percy said. Grover seemed even more confused.

"You don't even know Annabeth though. What's she to you?" Grover asked, causing Percy to sigh in annoyance once again. Percy stood up, deciding he had, had enough of this and headed towards the door, Nico following in tow. However before he could open the door, it seemed to open before he managed to get to it, revealing the last two people he ever wanted to see in this kind of situation.

Zoë Nightshade and Thalia Grace both stood at the doorway, and sure enough, they were not happy to see him or Nico in the slightest. Percy, for the last time sighed as he held his head in annoyance.

"Lovely." The sarcasm was too great to comprehend.

* * *

Her sweat glistened in the darkness of the room as her chains clinked each time they brushed up against each other. The strain was bearable but horribly uncomfortable, and getting worse and worse each day. Her arms were getting weaker and weaker as her strength slowly faded.

Artemis was getting tired.

That was incredibly rare for a goddess whose domain reigned in hunting. A sport that required prime physical fitness and incredible mental strength and self-control to do. Holding the sky was a burden she would not wish on any poor soul, not even a man. Despite her legend for her hatred of men, she only truly disliked men because of their stereotypical characteristics that the majority seemed to have.

She didn't truly hate men, she liked Hephaestus, and sometimes she enjoyed the company of Hermes, and despite her shown hatred for her brother Apollo, he was after all her brother, regardless of their arguments, she loved him for him. However, she did hate the majority of the male population, around ninety five percent of it to be precise.

She was tolerant to the other five, as they seemed to have more redeeming qualities than bad ones. However when trapped under the sky, she began to rethink her life choices, such as any normal person would in life or death situations. Being trapped under the sky is similar to a life or death situation for a god, because it was forever, and eternity under a burden is probably worse than death.

Suddenly she felt her burden lighten on her shoulders, becoming a lot more bearable. She slowly opened her hazy eyes and gazed towards whatever was helping her to thank that person. However what she saw utterly stunned her. A creature she had never seen before, a creature of legend even to the gods.

"Nine tailed Fox… Kyuubi?" Artemis breathed out in wonder and wariness. Kurama sat about a meter or two in front of her, about five of his tails stretching out and holding the sky for her. He grinned as he examined her up and down. He was no bigger than a common fox, he just had nine tails stretched out behind him, with the five tails helping with her newest burden.

**"Quite unfitting for a goddess such as yourself to be holding up the sky isn't it?"** Kurama said, a bit of mockery in his voice. Artemis could only laugh humorously at the fox's attempt at a civil conversation. She looked up into those crimson slit eyes, knowing only one other place she had seen those types of eyes before.

"Of all the places… in this world. Why are _you_ here?" Artemis asked. She still couldn't believe a creature like Kurama actually existed! Being the goddess of the hunt, all creatures and monsters we're within her domain to hunt and know about. In all her thousand years of hunting, she had never come across a nine tailed fox before.

**"I'm here to make sure peace and stability remains in this land. The Titans seek to rectify that and return the Titanomachy to what it was before the rein of the Olympians. I was placed here by the Second Sage to make sure this world stays peaceful." **Kurama said with a frown on his face. Artemis just laughed.

"And yet, the human race will never remain peaceful. War is everywhere, and death, murder and rape happens every second. There is no such thing as complete peace, where everyone understands on another. Such idealism cannot and will never exist." Artemis sneered. Kurama just scowled at her.

**"You may be right. Humans are selfish creatures. However that kind of peace did once exist in this land, for however long it lasted. It was around forty thousand years ago, when this land was known as the elemental continents, there was a young boy, who was destined to bring peace to this land." **Kurama said. Artemis looked up at Kurama.

The fox was that old? Could he possibly be older? Where was this ancient creature when the Titans reined? When the Giants reigned, what could possibly have made this fox come out of hiding again? And this boy, who was he?

**"When he was born, a monster attacked his village and the village leader had to save that village and ended up sealing that monster inside of the young boy. Throughout his life, the boy only had one dream, and that was to become a leader for the people who discriminated and abused him for something he had no control over. Despite all this he continued on. War and hatred plagued the land, and eventually that boy achieved his dream and saved the land from its hatred."** Kurama explained. Artemis frowned.

"Why are you telling me this?" Artemis asked as her burden got lighter and another tail was lifted to help with the burden she was put under. Kurama just grinned.

**"Because that boy left a mark behind in this world. Somewhere out there, is a boy who is his decedent. A boy who has inherited the will of fire. The third coming Sage, and I thought I would never live to see it. That peace the boy brought lasted thousands of years, until his legend faded from myth. I believe the Sage's will has been reborn in this boy. A boy that will bring about a new era, and he's going to need a lot of help to do so."**

Artemis's eyes widened ever so slightly as the fox in front of her smirked and laughed. The goddess could not believe it, she was seeing memories, memories from this fox. They were blurry, hazy even. She saw a war, a war that was so bloody, so unmerciful… a time where there was no gods… they called it…

The Forth Shinobi World War!

She saw that rampaging beast, so monstrous and powerful it was big enough to rival Typhon! In fact the storm giant had no comparison to this beast's power. It was unrivaled, and yet these… shinobi… these mortals continued to fight on, placing all their hopes in one boy.

Artemis no longer felt the sky on her shoulders, except she found her somewhere else completely. In some kind of sewer. Her tattered clothing and tired arms where not on her mind, because there was a man standing in front of her. A man with blonde hair, wearing an orange and black tracksuit.

She could only see the back of this young man. He stood proud and tall, full of confidence and bravery. When she looked at this boy, she could feel hope, so much hope just radiating from this boy. It was unbelievable what she was feeling right now. Never in her godly life had she felt this way and she couldn't even describe it!

**"It's confusing isn't it?"** She snapped her head to her side to see the same nine tailed fox she was conversing with before standing at her side, looking at the back of a boy who just made her feel, so… alive. It was like the boy was a born god, so powerful even her father Zeus couldn't compare.

"Why am I seeing this? Why are you showing me this?" Artemis asked. She felt so confused and lost all of a sudden, like she felt the need to question her life, and her beliefs. This man was nothing like the others, and she could get this just by looking at him. She could feel his emotions and it was almost suffocating!

**"He was the one who changed this world… he was the second sage who brought peace to this world so long ago."** Kurama said as the boy turned around and the goddess of the hunt got a full view of the boy, and who exactly he was. His deep blue eyes, the whisker marks on his cheek. The courage in his eyes and fire in his eyes spoke volumes of his character.

He raised his arm up towards Artemis who remained still, frozen, watching this character in front of her gaze at her with determination. His frown turned into a foxy grin as he smiled towards her, filling her with happiness and hope as he gave her a thumbs up.

"I'm going to become Hokage and break this cycle of hatred!" He exclaimed. Artemis seemed confused as Kurama laughed. The boy walked towards Artemis and placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her an even wider grin.

"That was what my dream use to be. Now it's his turn to change this world. Make sure you help him, Dattebayo." He grinned. He turned away as Artemis turned to Kurama, who seemed to be able to read her mind, and answered her question before she even got the chance to ask it.

**"It's a message he left behind. A message he gave to me to give to the people who were going to help him." **Kurama explained. The boy threw his hands up in the air and rest them behind his head.

"I don't know what's happening to my old home now, but since I'm telling you this it means my time has passed and the role of the Sage has been passed on. If you're seeing this, then it means that old fuzz butt here has woken up and something is happening to this world." The boy flinched as Kurama growled.

**"That brat still has no respect."** The fox grumbled. Artemis felt the need to smile but remain impassive as she continued to watch this display. The blonde boy laughed and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Anyway, whoever you are, please help him. If he's anything like me… he would have had a hard life, and he will cherish the people that he is close to. He will sacrifice everything to keep them safe, and what he probably needs right now is a group of friends to help him through his struggles." The boy said. He turned and looked Artemis right in the eyes and smiled.

"I believe in you, Dattebayo." He said with a foxy grin and his thumbs up, and just like that, the blonde shimmered out of existence and Artemis once again felt her body under heavy strain, stuck under the sky once more. She looked up and saw Kurama retreating.

**"Help is on its way, and he is as well. I take it you understand what you must do."** Kurama said before he vanished into the shadows of the room. Artemis smiled. It was like her hatred had been extinguished just by that boy talking to her. What kind of gift did that boy have to rid herself of two thousand years of hatred in just one sitting? Was it his smile? Was it his charisma? What made that boy so special?

"I'll be looking forward to meeting you again…"

* * *

The arguing spiked very quickly and Percy found himself at the center of the directed anger, and if he was to be honest with himself, he had screwed up quite badly lately. Even after Kurama's wise words and advice back in Maine, Percy had still made some bad decisions, but that was all growing up and learning to function on his own.

Taking Nico along with him had been one of these badly calculated decisions and it was now coming back to bite him badly. He was only fourteen and yet, he felt like it was him against the world. He wasn't sure if it was his hormones acting up, or if it was actually his blood as a demigod that confirmed his feelings.

So as of right now, Percy had stormed out of the coffee shop, and climbed the nearest mountain. He contemplated gathering sage chakra and running. He would run as fast as he could towards his destination, but that's all he's been doing since he left Kurama. Running, and running. No facing what lay behind him.

"Why can't I just be normal… just like any other demigod, why did the fates choose me to toy with? I hate this! I hate this world, I hate this power, I hate the gods, I hate the Titans… I HATE THIS!" Percy screamed at the top of his lungs. He had made sure he had made it a fair way away from the group to do this. He couldn't cope, how could he? Despite Kurama's teachings, this world was just clamming down on him and he didn't know how to react.

"You hate being different?" A voice sounded from behind him. Percy turned to find Zoë standing on top of the rocky face. A blizzard was closing in around him, a heavy fog settling around them. Percy hadn't realized it but he had shed some tears over his breakdown. He stared with emotionless eyes at Zoë, a look of shame written as clear as day on his face.

Zoë just smiled, seeing his obvious disgust for himself, she took a moment to savor that feeling, a feeling she had felt so many times over her lifetime and had never gotten enough of it, however this time it was different. Normally when she saw boys wallow in self-pity, she would watch their sanity crumble, but for some aching reason, she didn't want that to happen to this boy. It was just something about him…

"You have the power to utilize the powers of nature to your body. You have the power to incorporate incomprehensible power and use it against your enemies… and you hate it?" She was slightly confused. Who would hate that kind of power? The power of nature, Senjutsu, natural life force was like a bed time story for their kind of people. It was a power to be feared, and the boy in front of her had the power and skill to manipulate that.

"Of course I do." Percy said, turning away, refusing to meet her eyes. It would be around this time that Zoë would make a smart remark and belittle the boy, but she waited. She didn't know why, but she felt that she should at least give this boy a chance, to hear his story.

"I still remember that one day, the day I have never felt so powerless. The day my mother was ripped from my life, because of some stupid god dispute." Percy growled. Zoë tilted her head slightly. Sally Jackson, Percy's mother had been murdered because of one of Lord Hades's orders. The lord of the dead had been ignited with a new kind of anger after hearing that his oldest brother had also broken the vow.

"I ran, I've always run because that's apparently the only thing I'm good at. I survived for around a month… actually I have no idea, that whole time was a blur. I was living in constant fear, never knowing what was around the next corner. The feeling of powerlessness was evident every single second, and I hated it." Percy said. Zoë was fighting the feeling to feel sympathetic.

She could still remember to this day, the very day she was abandoned by her sisters when she had helped that traitor in one of his labors. It had been the worst mistake of her immortal maiden life, and yet, the best thing had happened to her, she had found the hunt. She had found a new family, but nothing would ever let her forget those tormenting days of walking around aimlessly, looking for a purpose, a reason to exist. The worst feeling was not the feeling of isolation, but the feeling that you were completely expendable, just a number.

"Then Kurama found me." Percy sat down at the edge of the cliff-face. It was a heavy drop to a frozen river below. The snow was thick but Percy didn't care, he needed to let this out, to whoever was listening. It didn't matter if it was Zoë, maybe this was just a way of apologizing for his stupid arrogant behavior before.

"Kurama is this mentor spirit mentor that trained you, yes?" Zoë asked. Percy just nodded in reply. Kurama wasn't a name that rang any bells with her. This spirit seemed to know the way to train in the Senjutsu arts if Percy was a master in them. Her mind wandered for a bit before Percy continued.

"He taught me all I needed to know, and what I would need to know. Nothing more, nothing less. He showed me a way to live my life, to care for all those people that meant something to me, but how could I live such a life if I have no one to protect? What use is this power if I cannot use it to protect those I care about? I hate this, not knowing what to do, and this reflects in my personality." Percy continued.

"I contradict myself at every turn, I make bad decisions and I can't seem to do anything right… and Kurama thinks that I'm going to save this world." Percy scoffed. Zoë frowned as Percy went onto say more.

"How can I possibly save this world if I can't even save myself and protect others?" Percy clenched his hands, making them go white and drawing a bit of blood. A few tears even leaked down his face as he clenched his eyes shut.

"I'm only fourteen for god sake, please, just give me some answers. What do I do? Just… help me." Percy just broke down. He couldn't contain it anymore. All the responsibility, the weight of his burden, the expectations just came crashing down on top of him and he couldn't hold the strain of his. No sage mode was going to help him here.

Zoë couldn't take it. She turned away from the boy, she had seen his arrogance, and his demeanor and this… this just destroyed all her previous assumptions of the boy. Deep down he was confused, he was angry, he was lost, but most of all, he was looking for a purpose, a reason to fight. That's the whole reason he went to camp. He's been looking for a way, a rhyme, and a reason to fight and help people.

She just couldn't fathom a man doing such a thing. All of her visions and expectations of men where pitch perfect, she was never wrong when it came to judging a man, and Percy was no different until now. She had experienced an entire new side of Percy, his true side. Behind that strong façade was a sensitive boy, who had experience similar events as her.

Men were selfish, arrogant, and self-righteous. They believed they deserved everything and treated those beneath them like dirt. It didn't matter if these were other men or women, but in her life, she had seen that in every instance, a woman had gotten the short end of the stick, and she had hated that.

Now there was this, this boy, who seemed to want nothing more than to protect those closest to him. The very thought of it made her angry, because it could have been a sick ploy to throw her off, but that emotion in his voice, he was broken and needed fixing. How could that happen to someone who was in possession of that kind of power?

Her lips trembled, her body and mind were becoming confused. His words didn't lie, she could feel it in her heart. His words carried emotion and meaning to them. She couldn't find the courage to belittle this boy because all he wanted to do was protect his precious people. He didn't seem to care about wealth, fame, power or anything else.

Percy Jackson was just a boy that was striving for power to protect those who he wanted to protect, and those who threatened him and his loved ones would pay the price. He was a dangerous enemy to have and Zoë was having a hard time just finding the courage now to find her voice. The more time she spent listening to him, the more she felt that bubbling feeling rise up in her chest. It was hard to ignore yes, but she was tough.

"G-get a hold of yourself. We have a quest to do, and I can't have you being an idiot on it." Zoë turned away, finding that her cheeks had heated up somewhat. What was going on, she hadn't felt this kind of feeling since…

"Your right, we need to save Artemis. I was being foolish thinking I could do this all on my own. I owe you an apology. I can understand if you don't want me on this quest, but even if you don't I need to go. Kurama is up there somewhere and I need to get to him." Percy stood up to face Zoë. Their eyes met and Zoë felt a connection. She had seen these eyes before… in a mirror.

It was a very long time ago, she bore the same eyes, she only wished to protect those precious to her, and help those people who needed it. Hercules had exploited her feelings and used her generosity, and after her usefulness had run its course, he had thrown her away like a broken sword.

Her hatred was born then, from the darkness of her soul, the very corners of her mind started to bleed into her thoughts, thoughts of hate, revenge, but the pain was still there, the pain of betrayal. Percy wasn't like her in that way, he hadn't experienced the pain of being betrayed like that, but he had lost just as much. He had suffered that loneliness just the same as she did. It was because of this, that she couldn't look him in the eyes. She had changed since those days, found the hunt and her place in the world. Percy was just like the old her. Looking for a reason to live, and she saw this in the space of a few minutes.

She understood him, and what he was trying to look for, and the most painful part of it was that she knew he wasn't going to find it any time soon. However she couldn't help but wonder, just what kind of man he would turn out to be.

Without another word, Zoë turned and left. Putting space between her and that boy was vital. It was because of something, some kind of chemical they shared, just being in the vicinity. She could describe it as being positives and negatives, as they attract.

She saw so much of herself in Percy that it hurt her both physically and mentally. Making space between her and Percy was the only way she could respond.

Percy sensed this without even needing to look in her direction. The feeling of isolation once again played with his senses. He was suffering deep down but he refused to break down again. He needed to be strong if he was going to save this world, like Kurama had said.

"What am I prepared to sacrifice?" Percy asked himself silently. It was a question that any great soldier would ask himself. What are you willing to sacrifice to ensure the safety of your people, your kin…? Percy had a feeling he was going to be sacrificing a lot more in the years to come.

* * *

Zoë launched an arrow from her bow the split second she had arrived back to find the chaos that had played out while she went to confront Percy. The skeletons that were tracking Thalia after their previous battle at the museum were fighting the group and overwhelming them fast and efficiently.

Nico and Bianca were back to back, fending off the horde of reanimated dead attempting to swarm them and gut them violently. Zoë's arrows launched every second, hitting her targets with hawk-like accuracy. She wouldn't even have blink to hit her target. After thousands of years of archery, she had become so proficient with it that it was not even second nature, but almost third nature, like walking or breathing.

Grover was use his pipes to entrance and tangle the enemy while Thalia beat them down with both her gifted godly powers, along with her amazing skill with a spear. However, all of this was still not enough as the group was still being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Each time a skeleton was downed, two would take its place, not to mention, the downed skeleton would regenerate.

However what was interesting from Zoë's eye, was that whenever Nico or Bianca landed a fatal hit, their target would burst into black flames and disappear into the wind. She had a sneaking suspicion that their Parent might be Hades, lord of the dead.

Two skeletons grabbed Zoë from behind and pulled her backwards, however Zoë used the momentum to back flip and unsheathe her hunting knives, and in one clean sweep, she cleaved both heads clean off the skeletons head. She then took the liberty of kicking their heads away, to prologue the regeneration.

"We need to retreat!" Zoë screamed over all the chaos. A lightning bolt struck another skeleton that was about to attack her. Thalia jumped to her aid, striking the skeleton that was about to attack her and put multiple holes through it. The enemy crumpled to bits, but already started regenerating.

"Any bright ideas moon girl? We're completely surrounded here." Thalia said. Zoë's eyes darted around, examining the situation carefully. Skeletons had completely surrounded them and covered all means of escape. They were backed into a circle, all five of them.

"Where's Percy?" Nico asked. Zoë grumbled.

"Not important, we can't rely on him right now." Zoë replied quickly. Nico didn't respond but the huntress could tell he was distressed. The boy was only ten and the situation was not one that was favorable for a ten year old, or for any age for that matter.

"We need something big, something large and powerful enough to clear the way. A single opening is all we need!" Zoë said, starting to curse at this unfavorable situation. Ironically, Zoë's hidden plea for help was answered as a giant boar came rocketing out of the trees and straight through the skeletons, ploughing them like snow.

"Scatter!" Zoë screamed as they all dived out of the way. The boar rampaged through the unaware skeletons and shattered them to pieces, trampling all over their remains prolonging their reincarnation for at least a few minutes.

"ROARR!" The boar roared. It was almost earth shattering, the sheer size of the beast could be compared to at least two New York buses. It was almost impossible to believe and the mere presence of the beast made Zoë pale and curse slightly.

"Subdue the Boar! We can use it for travel!" Grover shouted. Zoë looked at the Satyr strangely but couldn't help but smile at the suggestion. It was a brilliant idea, seeing as the boar's stride was incredibly fast.

However the question wasn't how they were going to ride it, it was how they were going to even get on it in the first place. It was enraged by something, and whatever it was it was driving Grover up the wall. Thalia just had to keep him from fainting and becoming for of a liability than the group could handle.

After a few minutes of playing cat and mouse with the boar, and trying to figure out how to tire it out, nothing seemed to be working. However Bianca tripped on a rock hidden beneath the snow just as the boar took notice. Nico cried out for help as the boar charged towards the downed girl. She closed her eyes as the boar closed in, however it never met her.

The side of the boar suddenly caved in something very heavy had slammed into it. As she looked closer, she saw a boy with his fist out stretched into the boar's side. He pushed harder and the boar was sent tumbling.

Percy Jackson stood tall and firm, Sage mode blaring at the creature. His crimson silted eyes glaring down at the creature as it stood back up, glaring back at Percy. Its nostrils fumed as it puffed out oxygen. It was positioning itself for another attack. Suddenly without warning it charged again.

The group cried out in vain as the boar hit Percy dead on and rammed him into a mountain. The boar continued to push, and to the absolute dismay of the group, they saw the boar being slowly pushed back. With blood running down his face and most of his clothes tattered from the impact on the solid rock, Percy slowly gathered his strength and grabbed the tusks of the boar and pushed back.

Percy was pushed to his absolutely limit in Sage Mode with this task. He was red in the face, pushing a boar the size of two buses back with his own two hands. Zoë was in absolute awe, along with the rest, but at the same time, she was utterly sour, seeing such strength displayed by a male, it just reminded her of her past endeavor with Hercules, however then Percy said something that really shocked her.

"You think you can push me back?-" Percy pushed forward with another thrust. The boar squealed as it lost its balance. It tumbled back in pain as its tusked started to crack under the intense and inhuman strength that Percy was displaying.

"-Think again!" Percy screamed as he threw a well-aimed blow into its snout. The boar whaled in agony as its nose started to bleed profusely from its bone shattering blow. Percy then jumped back, and for the first time, Zoë saw something she had never seen before.

Percy formed a strange, and confusing set of hand seals before landing on one and holding it close to his mouth. Percy breathed in deeply, and closed his eyes. He knew he should only be using this as a finishing technique, and since it would drain the rest of his Senjutsu it would be enough to put it down. These techniques were taught to him specifically by Kurama, and he could only use them in Sage mode.

_"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"_ Percy yelled as he exhaled. Smoke, ash and fire spewed from his mouth like a rock and hit the boar dead on. The stream of yellow and orange flame engulfed the beast and inherently increased the boar's pain and misery. The inferno was great, but even Zoë knew it would not be enough to kill the boar.

When the fiery blaze had settled down, the boar dropped to the ground unconscious and twitching. The entire group was shocked as they turned to look at Percy who was also on the verge of collapsing. He was breathing in and out hard, coughing and spluttering from using such a technique. Since he had no chakra coils, he had to rely on utilizing the natural chakra he gathered from his godly side and use that to use, what Kurama called it, Ninjutsu.

Before Percy could fall, Zoë found herself catching him before he could fall. Thalia was so surprised she even raised an eyebrow, causing Zoë to scowl at her. Thalia was probably never going to let her live this one down.

"No man or women will be left behind." Zoë stated. Percy was already out cold on her shoulder. Nico ran to his side to help Zoë support him. They all then turned to the smoking boar and smiled.

"That solves that problem at least. I hope I'm not the only one looking forward to bare back boar riding." Bianca groaned.

* * *

Zoë Nightshade handed Percy another bottle of water, and he gulped it down without complaint. She couldn't exactly sympathize with him due to the very fact that she did not know the means of spewing searing hot fire balls out of her mouth, but Percy was clearly affected.

Since he had no chakra coils, Percy had to suffer some rather unwanted side-effects from using Ninjutsu. Since he couldn't mold it properly, he had to channel it in its raw form, which could be painful at times when dealing with a domain that you were not accustomed to. Kurama had warned him that using Ninjutsu in Sage Mode would rapidly drain natural chakra, and also effect his physical body, and right now that was showing quite clearly.

"I hope I never have to do that again." Percy said grimly as he held his neck. The insides of is throat were slightly swollen and it didn't feel nice at all. Zoë had to smirk a little bit at the advantages that Senjutsu gave the user during the heat of battle.

"The very nature of Senjutsu is incredible Perseus. The idea of a son of Poseidon utilizing a completely different domain… fire to be even more precise is a huge gift indeed. I am almost inclined to say that I am jealous that you know the forbidden art and I do not." Zoë said honestly. She could have sworn she heard Thalia snort, but ignored it.

Percy feeling guilty about his previous actions and conversations with Zoë before looked up to the sky in thought. He thought about it for a few minutes as they rode west on the back of the Boar, which wasn't nearly as comfortable as Percy wished it to be, being a boy and all.

Kurama had told him that a long time ago, there existed many different clans that consisted of various different types of summons, and the person who signed a contract to these clans could be taught the mysterious art. The fox had told him that he was not one of these sacred clans or animals to provide the skills to teach it, however his 'friend' did learn it, and he took the natural base of the learning and incorporated his own style into it.

This meant that Kurama didn't initially know Senjutsu, but since has learned it and incorporated his own chakra nature and style into his contract that he created. This meant that there could be possibly other spirits like Kurama that could possibly know the art. Maybe he could ask Kurama when he next saw him.

"It really depends on you as a person." Percy said. Everyone was listening in, interested to hear what kind of things you needed to learn Senjutsu. Percy's mind wandered for a while as he remembered the rigorous training he went through the learn Senjutsu. Balancing on top of a deadly gorge with nothing but a wooden board and his peace of mind to protect him from a guaranteed fall to your death.

"You have to rid yourself of hatred and accept yourself as who you are. Once you have done that, you must work towards a goal, a life goal, and with that determination, Senjutsu responds to the godly nature in you and allows you to control it. It takes a very long time master." Percy said. Zoë looked down with a saddened expression.

"I guess that would imply that I would have to…" Zoë trailed off, while Percy closed his eyes and sighed. He knew this was coming, and he knew Zoë would question it. Her pride would not allow such information to be passed without consideration on her part.

"Yes, it would mean you would have to give up your hatred for men, and accept them, and protect them. If you use Senjutsu and harvest grudging hate within you, the natural power will corrupt you and take over your form." Percy said. Zoë just sighed. Learning Senjutsu would require her to probably give up her place within her hunt. It was probably why Lady Artemis could not achieve such a power, she could not rid herself of her hatred for males.

"I'm not sure I can give up my place in the hunt for such a power. I care about my sisters and Lady Artemis too much to even consider it as an option, and I'm not sure I can quell my hatred for men." She said. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"You tolerate me and my shit just fine?" Percy said. Zoë just snorted and turned away from him, causing Percy to smirk and chuckle under his breath.

"You're an exception, based on your actions and beliefs, plus your reason to fight, you are… respectable, dare I say." She said. Percy sighed and shrugged his shoulders. That was as close as he was going to get from a compliment from her any time soon.

It was much later that they had to evacuate their ride and continue on foot as the Boar had gone as far as it dared to go across where it was comfortable going. They had two days after the night passed to get to San Francisco and it looked like they had arrived in some desert that was close to their destination. The group looked around, seeing nothing but dust and dirt, and very little signs of life.

"I can literally feel the death and sense of dread circling around this place. I don't like it." Nico said. Percy and the rest of the group had to agree with that. After walking for a couple of hours, the group decided to take a breather and have a rest. They had taken a rest upon a ridge, overlooking a large junkyard.

While the others went to sleep, Percy drowsed as he lay against a rock, examining the junkyard. He had done his research well, and he had found out that it was the junkyard of the gods, a place Kurama said was basically a place where the gods dumped all of their trash, broken stuff, and cursed items, animations and battle scared items.

However there as a guardian somewhere in that metal hell, and it was hiding, and waiting for anyone to pass through or to try and take things from the yard. It was dark out and there were strange flickers of lights and sparks inside the yard, as Percy continued to stare.

"We are required to proceed through there tomorrow." A voice sounded from behind Percy. He turned to see Zoë sitting up in her sleeping bag, untying her hair and redoing it for sleeping. Percy just turned back to look at the yard in thought.

"Did you get a prophecy at all when you left camp?" Percy asked. Zoë propped herself up against a rock while still in her sleeping bag, she watched Percy hesitantly, despite being in the desert, it was a very chilling night, and he was wearing summer gear, and he wasn't even shaking.

"_Six will go west, separated they will unite - the bane of Olympus shows the trail, - campers, hunters and the sage will prevail, - One shall be lost in the land without rain – Spirit and Goddess shall be saved – the resolve of the sage breaks her fate." _Zoë recited perfectly. Percy frowned, everything up till now had been predicted.

He had no clue as to what kind of Bane Olympus had, and he wasn't following any kind of trail, but then again, Zoë must have been tracking something. He had Nico had left early, and that was two, and the others left in a group of four. Six had gone west and had been united.

However, one shall be lost in a land without rain. Technically, someone was going to die, or be lost out here, and the group would be leaving with five. He could attempt to break that fate, but apparently, the sage, was going to break someone's fate at the end of this quest. He didn't know if the 'sage' meant his power or him specifically, or someone completely different.

"I hate prophecies. They really suck. Their basically a death sentence, and you knowing the date. I would have rather had gone through this mission without getting some sort of sick stamped fate." Percy stated sourly. Zoë just sighed.

"You are right in some ways. Sometimes I would like to not know about the future when walking towards it. In some ways, you're more prepared not knowing than you are when you do know. Although I do wonder what the last line means." She said. Percy frowned as he looked back into the sky.

"'_The resolve of the sage breaks her fate. _' What does it mean, who is 'her'?" Percy wondered quietly as he tried to rack his brain for solutions to this mystery. However Zoë on the other hand stared uncomfortably at Percy. She knew very well where they were heading and what to encounter. There was a high chance she would die if she were to face her father, Atlas, the Titan of Strength and Endurance. Her death awaited her and she knew that going into this question, however these feelings that were slowly growing was making it harder to combat her resolve to die with honor.

But when the prophecy she was give said that the sage would save 'her from her fate', she wasn't quite sure what that meant. Prophecies always seemed to have double meanings so she assumed that it was saving Artemis from her fate of being stuck under the sky for the rest of eternity. However the closer she got to their destination, the more she began to think otherwise.

She knew very well that the sage meant Percy. Him knowing Senjutsu and having his level of control over the art very well made him a sage, so this prophecy very well included him, but what was his role in this place?

It was strange, his gaze seemed so far and distant. She could almost feel his discomfort, as if something was bothering him to no end.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, curiosity in her voice. Percy continued to look at the graveyard of junk and metal, his eyes glazing over the different areas, looking for the enemy that was hiding within the metal jungle.

"There's something down there, and it's not natural. It's very old, and very hostile. I'm not sure we should go through there." He replied. Zoë scowled and looked over towards the junkyard, her copper brown skin glistening in the night with a silvery glow. Her skin was impossibly smooth and she was slim and athletic, she was always alert. It was an attraction Percy couldn't bring himself to ignore.

"It's probably Talos, Hephaestus made him to guard the junkyard. He is defective in his own ways but that made him the perfect and deadly guardian for the trash of the Olympians. Hephaestus is very protective when it comes to belongings, just like his wife, Aphrodite." Zoë spat the name of the love goddess with venom clear in her tone. Percy just closed his eyes in thought. It was quite reasonable for followers of Artemis to hate the goddess involved with love.

It was probably either men, or love that crushed those hunters and forced them to pledge their life to the goddess Artemis. He never knew what could possibly drive them to give up on love for all eternity, and those who broke the vow were cast out like trash. It was an unnatural hate that Percy always seemed to waver in question about that particular goddess. At least she wasn't going around bedding males and having demigod children like the other gods.

"Let's just hope your right. I have a feeling that tomorrow isn't going to be a good day." Percy said as he lay back and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep in a matter of minutes. Zoë remained awake, staring at the stairs. She held her chest, both in confusion, sadness and fear. Her feelings and emotions were started to resurface and she didn't know why.

She was terrified about her mistress Artemis, and was afraid about her finding out about her slowly ever growing affection for Percy. She didn't know why he attracted her, and was cursing Aphrodite for plaguing her with thoughts of romance and love. She loathed men, hatred them, treated them as if they were an infection that needed to be cleansed.

"The fates must be laughing at me right now. I can't believe I feel this way." Zoë said silently to herself as she lay back and quietly went to sleep. However she would get no rest as her dreams would be plagued by the man her was responsible for her hatred, for her turning her back on men.

Zoë slowly opened her eyes to green fields and a night sky so familiar it almost made her squeak in terror. It was the night of _his_ betrayal. _He_ had betrayed her trust and had turned his back on her right in front of her. When he was finished with her, he threw her away like trash.

The man she had loved, the man she had helped, the man she had given up everything for, had turned his back on her. That very night, her heart shattered into pieces and she watched as he trampled over them, like a heartless monster.

"I cannot take you with me beautiful one. The road ahead is dangerous, not for one such as yourself." Hercules said to her past self. Zoë fell to her knees as she watched her past self's heart shatter and break down.

"I have broken all of the laws of my sisters and my father for you! I will not be welcome here anymore! Please!" Dream Zoë pleaded. However the large man just shook his head with pity and turned away. Her lips quivered as she watched the man she loved walk away from her, without even a single glance.

Dream Zoë's eyes were puffy red, and her eyes were blood shot from cry as she watched the man she loved turn his back on her. The other Zoë trembled in both anger and sadness as she re-watched her reason for her hatred. However, something happened that startled her completely.

"**YOU BASTARD!**" A voice sprang out of nowhere. A black blur tackled Hercules. The blur and the son of Zeus tumbled across the ground in a struggle to remain dominate. Eventually Hercules lost and was sent through a wall. The figure stood up to be none other than Percy Jackson, in full blared Sage Mode. Wait... what? How could this be happening? This was a dream right? A memory? This didn't happen! Percy Jackson could _not_ be here right now!

Zoë couldn't believe her eyes, along with Dream Zoë. She didn't remember this happening, not even remotely close, Percy Jackson wasn't even alive when this happened, and so why was he here? How? Did he infiltrate her dreams somehow? Only Morpheus, the god of dreams could do that. She continued to watch, speechless as the display carried on.

Hercules pushed himself out of the rubble and stood tall and firm, as if nothing had damaged him. His godly eyes scowling at Percy for even daring to do such a thing. Before he could speak, the son of Poseidon exploded on him.

"You disgust me. I never knew why Zoë hated men so much, but this… I can understand. What kind of man are you?! Turning your back on the person who just risked everything to help you achieve something! Can't you see how she feels for you?" Percy asked with venom in his tone. Hercules scoffed.

"Stupid boy, can't you see it's for the greater good? I have many woman that wish to court me. Zoë Nightshade is not one of those applicants. I'm sorry to say this but she was a means to an end. It would be unfitting for a Son of Zeus to be married to the daughter of Atlas-" Hercules was cut off by a fist impacting his face, sending him flying backwards.

"I've heard enough! I looked up to you once, now I wish I never had. Someone like you should be sent to the pit of Tartarus for such a thing, you selfish-prick!" Percy spat. Hercules said no more and charged at Percy, however he was not prepared for the Senjutsu enhanced demigod as Hercules greatly underestimated Percy's abilities.

Zoë's heart skipped a beat every time Percy defended her and happiness welled up inside of her every time a punch was landed on that jerks face. After a few minutes of being absolutely beaten to a pulp, Hercules faded into a black mist, and Zoë felt a weight she hadn't even known existed, lift from her shoulders. She felt a lot happier all of the sudden.

"Are you alright?" Percy said as he offered her a hand. She stared at him in wonder, before slowly lifting her hand to take it. As soon as her hand connected with his, light sprang from all around them, blinding them off, and filling up the entire area. She hadn't felt this happy since she found Artemis.

* * *

She slowly opened her eyes, she blinked furiously to block out the early morning sun. She sat up to find that she was the first to wake up. Everyone around her was still asleep, including her lucid hero. She found her gaze glued to the sleeping boy, both in anger and amazement. Was that actually his sub-conscious intruding on hers? Or was that her mind trying to protect itself..?

She couldn't make sense of any of this, and after minutes of wondering to herself in silence, the sleeping sage had slowly stirred. He sat up, blinking the morning dust out of his eyes. He turned to Zoë who was still staring at him with mixed emotions. He blinked at her and yawned, while she just frowned.

"Morning." He said as he stood up and went over to the nearby cliff-edge and stretched in the morning sun. Zoë sighed and got up and quickly did her hair and threw her quiver and huntress gear on before Percy could even turn around. If wasn't going to question her about the dream, then maybe that wasn't him intruding.

"I had a strange dream about you last night Zoë." Percy said off-handily. Zoë froze and closed her eyes, blushing heavily in the process. She turned to him and scowled even more, her fingers twitching, begging to notch and fire an arrow right at him for saying such a strange thing.

"Oh? Care to tell me what it was about." She asked nervously. Her heart started to beat at a hastened pace once again and it was such a foreign feeling to her that she wasn't quite sure how to deal with his kind of emotion. She just couldn't help but feel and admire the growing attraction she was having to Perseus.

"I saw what Hercules did to you. I understand now your hatred for men. What he did to you was so low I couldn't believe it was happening right before my own eyes." He said as he sat down on the edge and over looked the glowing junkyard again, this time glowing and bathing in the morning sunlight, blessed by Apollo. Zoë turned away to hide her ever growing blush.

"Don't feel sorry for me boy. It is a disappointment I have gotten over centuries ago. I do not regret helping that disgusting man, because if I did, I would not have met Lady Artemis and I would not be here right now." Her tone did not carry that feeling of disgust and hate, but instead, just a regular girl, and Percy picked up on that.

"_Why am I feeling like this? Why is he making me feel this way!? I know this will all end in disappointment! Stop! Please make this feeling stop!"_ Zoë cried internally. To deny ones feelings of thyself, was to deny the souls desire. She had heard this saying before, and old prophet had once told her love would always be watching, and love would always be in everyone's heart, no matter how much hatred they bore. That implied that even Artemis, held some sort of love for males, but it was locked down somewhere where it would never show.

"_Aphrodite is a powerful goddess. She affects every single piece of life on this world in some way or form."_ Zoë thought to herself.

"Zoë?" Percy said, breaking her out of her thoughts. She turned sharply to him and scowled at him. He tilted his head slightly at her sudden change in mood. She then softened her gaze unintentionally as she calmed down.

"Leave me alone. Just wake the others, I will be back in a few minutes." Zoë said walking off, breaking sight with Percy and the others. Percy just sighed and complied as he walked towards the group to wake up the others.

Zoë knew one thing for certain, by the end of this quest, one way or another, she might not be a lieutenant of Artemis or even a follower of her any longer.

* * *

End- A/N: So yeah stuff happened. Good or bad, doesn't matter. Next chapter is already done, and in editing phase. Give me another month or two, depending on my inconsistent record for updating my stories. Maybe I might release the next chapter within the next week. You never know with me. Stuff that hasn't been explained will be explained later on, or if you're really impatient, just PM me and i'll answer your question.

P.S: Man I suck at writing romance. Golly I am rubbish.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N:_

_So, before you start I have to say a few things. Writing is hard, to some of those who really try. I find writing when I don't have motivation extremely difficult or down right impossible. Like my profile says, I don't exactly want to rush my stories and this means force them out. This would produce bad quality I guess. Both this story and Team of Two are not dead, in fact for those of you who follow Team of Two, I have actually managed to start writing it again, and hopefully will get a chapter out before December._

_A lot of things happen in this chapter, read and find out I guess._

_Most of you will have already come to understand that this story's world of Percy Jackson is the future of Naruto. Forty Thousand Years in the future or more to be precise. To clear it all up, humans went though a stage of peace where the need for shinobi died out and effectively chakra became unused and seemed to just fade away as time went on. Now in these days, Demigods and Gods have a similar system to chakra._

_This is NOT chakra coils. It is in fact different. I is a similar network that runs through their bodies that works like chakra but is more specific. E.g. Poseidon = Water Affinities. Zeus = Lightening Affinities. The characters in this story can eventually learn how to mold chakra, but that will be very later in the story and there will be a special kind of training they will have to complete to be able to do so. _

_I want you guys to understand that at the moment, Book 3, as in The Titans Curse is more or less an introductory Arc for the main characters this story is going to focus around. Percy, Zoe, Artemis, Nico and Thalia. Those are the main five. Supporting characters will be Annabeth, Luke and some others._

_Battle of the Labyrinth will be much longer than the Titans Curse because I will be implementing more Naruto stuff to mix and change the flow of the story. I'm trying to curve away from cannon Percy Jackson, and really get to the crossover features that I can see make a interesting concept. _

_So what I am saying is don't except the same checkpoints once we hit Battle of the Labyrinth and the Last Olympian. I can assure you that these arcs are going to happen very differently now, especially with the way I plan to take it. I might also ask for a beta reader at some point so let me know if your interested._

* * *

**Chapter Four: Breaking the Hatred**

Zoë stood a fair way away from the group when something broke her out of her soulless gaze into the distance. A pink flash of light appeared before her as she was forced to shield her eyes. The being that stood before her was none other than the famed goddess of love herself. Zoë did not bow, she did not say anything, and she just scowled in the direction of the love goddess.

"I can see that your typical huntress judgmental stare is as piercing as ever Ms Nightshade." Aphrodite commented lightly as the two seemed to stand off. The love goddess could be just as, if not more intimidating than Artemis some times. She was literally the image of beauty, and if she wanted, she could seduce females, just as effectively as she could males. Zoë just remained scowling attempting to keep up a facade of authority, just like Artemis would do in the presence of this goddess.

"It's your fault isn't it? The way that I'm feeling about Perseus. You have manipulated my feelings to try and make me fall for Perseus." Zoë growled while the love goddess just groaned with annoyance. Aphrodite's menacing stare was hurting Zoë's confidence. The goddess of Love was undeniably powerful in a special way. She could make even the greatest of warriors fall with a single look. It was haunting just what Aphrodite was capable of.

"Silly huntress, it is not my personal doing that has forced you to become hopelessly infatuated with the son of Poseidon. Although I do tend to get myself involved in possible romantic demigod couples, I took it upon myself to come down here to talk to you about your growing affection for Perseus because it concerns the fate of Olympus." Aphrodite replied. Zoë stepped back.

"What do you mean? How does my growing feelings for Perseus affect the fate of Olympus? That sounds absurd. It could be anyone else, why me?" Zoë said. Aphrodite such sighed.

"To be quite honest I was trying to pair him off with someone else. Annabeth Chase was a nice pick, and Thalia was also quite a nice choice, but ever since I felt his affection grow for you and yours for him, I've had trouble accepting this. Ignoring the possibility of me finally bragging to Artemis about how her most favored hunters has once again fallen for the beauty that is love, the circumstance that this presented before myself is most interesting." She said. Zoë raised an eyebrow, Aphrodite wasn't normally this talkative… especially to a hunter.

"I suppose I see this as an opportunity to break Artemis out of her repulsive shell." Aphrodite confessed. Zoë returned to her scowling form, disgusted at the way this conversation was heading.

"Lady Artemis would never turn her back on her followers! Why do you persist to hound my mistress into such lustful and shameless activities with vile males?!" Zoë growled fiercely. Aphrodite growled as she flaunted her godly aura. It was powerful, demanding, and vicious and… angry. Zoë had seen first-hand the chaos an angry love goddess could inflict.

"I am NOT _just_ the goddess of sex you short-sighted girl!" Aphrodite boomed. Zoë stepped back once again, hesitant to talk back to her. Goddess or not, Aphrodite could very well destroy your life, your pride and your confidence in one sentence if she wanted. The aura calmed down and Aphrodite took what seemed to be a deep breath and smiled.

"Listen Zoë, love is a wonderful thing. I'm being honest here. In reality, when I see you hunters, I can understand why you distrust and dislike males so much, given your terrible unlucky experiences with them. However there are people like Percy out there and you miss that because you are too busy looking at all their flaws to see their positives." Aphrodite said. Zoë remained silent as she couldn't really argue with that.

Who really is Perseus Jackson? The name questioned her and ate away at the huntress and had been for a while now. When she had first met Percy, he had been arrogant, competitive, annoying and rude. Was that just a front? She had seen his break down, he was lost and in need of guidance and a friend. He truly had no friends. She wasn't sure what these feelings of hers meant but she could feel them affecting her actions. Was it truly love? Could she really give it a category?

"That's why I want you hunters to experience love. I may have caused wars, and fights over the millennia, but when it comes to my domain, I will take care of those that fall under my jurisdiction. That goes for other gods as well, and you Zoë. Love does not always mean sex, Zoë. I have watched males and females fall in love, get married and never have sex! Love is the purest feeling and that's why I wish Artemis and her hunters, and all those others to experience it." Aphrodite said.

"I know what love is Lady Aphrodite." Zoë said respectively. She turned away from the love goddess and looked down at the ground, her eyes betraying shame.

"I have followed Artemis for over two millennia, and it's only now that I have discovered a male that forces me to second guess myself on my actions and I don't know if that's good or bad. It really feels like a distraction or an inconvenience, and for some reason I feel that I have found myself falling for him. It is confusing for me to feel such emotions again, and I find myself questioning my faith." She said sadly.

"I cannot give you the sound advice you desire, Zoë, It's up to you to make the decision. Not me, not Artemis… you. I can almost say for certainty that if you were to give up your faith and court Percy, I'm sure Artemis would respect that." She said. Zoë raised an eyebrow at this.

"How can that be so? I have witness lady Artemis cast out unfaithful followers and never look at them again. How can you say she would not do that same to me?" Zoë asked, generally interested in the love goddesses view. Aphrodite chuckled a little.

"You said it yourself, you have followed her for two thousand years Zoë Nightshade, Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. She has seen you at your lowest, and at your best. She knows you from head to toe, inside and out. She has read every single page of your life and know exactly what type of person you are. If she saw you with Percy Jackson, what would that say about him?" She asked. Zoë had to admit, Aphrodite had a very good point. She and Artemis were practically best friends.

If she were to suddenly consort with a boy, Artemis would surely investigate and find out what made this boy so special to earn the attention and affection of Zoë Nightshade. Artemis wouldn't just cast out one of her best and most loyal hunters, regardless of the pledge.

"I will admit, Artemis is one of the smartest Olympians, smarter than myself. However, her short-sighted hatred that spawned after that repulsive Orion debacle has clouded her rather better judgement for the better half of two millennia." Aphrodite said. Zoë didn't respond. Orion was… a strange man, almost seemed like the ideal male… until he did what he did. Artemis had never been the same since.

"Look, all I came here to tell you was that your feelings for Perseus aside, a decision will come to you naturally. Don't try to over think it too much. Friendly advice from one female to another, just don't over think it." Aphrodite said before flashing away, leaving Zoë no time to reply.

The huntress stood in silence, the sound of wind rushing past her ears was her only comfort. Her fazed eyes stared at the spot the love goddess had been in a loss. She was well and truly confused with her feelings and had no idea how to confront them.

"Why has this romance developed so quickly? I hated that boy not even a couple of days ago. It makes no sense for me to have these feelings right now, but I feel as if they have grown on me over time." Zoë muttered to herself. The huntress shook her head and decided she would address these feelings at a later date, right now they were burning time they didn't have, and the winter solstice was a day or two away from arriving, and Artemis was required to be present.

With that in mind, Zoë returned to the group on a much lighter note.

* * *

The group was well and truly moving now, their only way forwards was clear. The way through the junkyard was a gamble, and they decided to take their chances at it. Walking through the graveyard of metal and junk, automatons, objects and weapons seemed to lie dormant and silent. Nothing but the wind could be hear and the occasional sound of creaking metal.

Piles upon piles of junk lay before them, a maze of metal and electronics that the gods had deemed worthless and decided to flush down the metaphorical toilet. Some of this stuff could come in handy, but there were guards hidden here for a reason.

Strolling through the maze, they were trying to find an exit of some sort, trying their best not to touch anything of any kind of value. However, Grover hadn't been looking where he was going and clumsily tripped over a piece of metal, bumping into Nico, who fell forward and hit Thalia, causing her to fall into a mountain of junk.

Thalia sprang to her feet in time to dodge the various metal parts that were now falling because of the sudden impact. She had hit a large tower of metal, and it had seemed to knock it off balance. Metal and junk, creaked and clanged as it fell down to the ground and brought other pieces with it, causing possibly the loudest crash the group was trying to avoid making.

The three managed to run to safety and join Percy, Bianca and Zoë, while the three looked at the other three with disapproving glares. When the mountain slide of metal had ceased and remain stationary again, the group breathed, but that was halted as somewhere off in the distance of the junkyard, something creaked and groaned. After a few seconds, silence… then a large thump, followed by another large thump seconds later.

"Shit… Talos is awake." Percy said. Zoë growled and looked at the three culprit who had closed their eyes and cursed their stupidity, Thalia glaring at Grover for the cause of the situation.

"You should watch your hooves more carefully goat-boy!" Thalia hissed. Grover whimpered a little, both in fear of Thalia and their current, unfavorable situation. The six turned to the nearest path in the yard and ran like their lives depended on it, which it did. Both Percy and Zoë were scanning the area, looking for a way out that could possibly save all of them, but the lines of the prophecy were distracting them.

A shadow started to creep up behind them, and the thumping and vibrations on the ground got even more apparent and obvious that Talos was now chasing them, and it would be no time before it caught up.

"Don't worry, this Talos is much smaller than the original one. He's probably defective too." Zoë said, trying to find the positives in the situation. The thumping seemed to get louder and louder after that insult, causing Zoë to grind her teeth.

As she was running she spun around and shot half a dozen arrows in a couple of seconds. The arrows bounced harmless off the large automaton. It was a good attempt but it was quite obvious that normal weapons were not going to be much help here.

"Put your weapons away and run! They will do us no good here. We must find a way out!" Zoë said as the group rounded a corner, however Talos had finally caught up and cut them off, stepping over the large piles of junk and stood firmly in front of them. Past the giant legs of the metal guard, was a clear exit.

"Scatter!" Percy commanded. The group split off, running in completely different directions, confusing Talos and making him choose his target instead of crushing the entire group as one. The group members all found a hiding spot, out of the way of Talos. Grover used his magic to try and tangle the automation, while Zoë and Bianca fired arrows at the giant metal man. Thalia was firing lightning bolts at it, while Nico hid behind her.

Percy in the meanwhile was trying to examine the automation, and was trying to look for a weak spot in its design. He always knew everything had a weak spot. No matter what it was, every single thing had a flaw that something else could exploit and right now it was about finding out what it was.

After about eight minutes of Talos stumbling around trying to find the group, Percy managed to spot it just out the corner of his eye. Right under the defective model of Talos was a hatch, which was obviously made for a man to fit through. Someone could get inside Talos. Percy started to gather the necessary natural chakra for Sage mode when he was distracted by Bianca making a break for the foot of the Giant.

"Bianca stop!" Percy screamed, getting the attention of the giant defective Talos. Bianca ignored him and managed to slip under its foot and into the hatch. She had obviously saw it before him and had enacted her plan before he could. Percy entered Sage mode and dashed for the giant. The giant roared and lifted its foot and brought down on Percy.

A surge of anger flowed through Percy like a rushing river, as he caught the foot and managed to keep the giant from squashing him. An amazing feat and display of strength that would have killed any demigod period, or any mortal, and here Percy was lifting what could have been compared to as about more than five trucks of weight, stacking on his shoulders.

With a grunt of pain and anger, Percy pushed with all of his strength and energy and managed to cause Talos to lose its footing and stumble backwards, but not fall over. The large automation was then struck by a bolt of powerful lighting causing surges of electricity to flow up and down the metal structure.

Talos then lifted its sword to strike Percy, and the latter readied for another direct attack, but it never came. The group seemed to collectively hold their breath as Talos seemed to be frozen in an attack stance. Percy was brought out of his thoughts as the giant jerked and twitched, bits and pieces of him disengaging and falling off.

However, just when things seemed to get better, a large explosion ripped through the remainder of the giant, blowing it to pieces. All of the group members were thrown back by the backlash of the explosion.

Percy shot backwards into a pile of junk, a thin rusted metal bar piercing his left shoulder. Percy gasped in pain as all the air left his body, and his sage mode lifted.

Agonizing pain shot up his left side. He lifted his right arm to clutch the wound only to find that the metal bar had wedged itself between his shoulder bone and his collar bone. The pain was excruciating, and his vision was blacking out. He found that he couldn't breathe, the adrenaline and shock was kicking in, dulling the pain as best as it could, but the pain was still unbearable.

"…shit." Percy wheezed out. He tried to lean forward and slide the metal out but another surge of pain shot up his left side, causing him to fall backwards into his previous position. Percy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, and attempted to control his breathing. He could feel the metal grinding against his shoulder bones every time he breathed in and out.

Eventually Percy managed to slow his breathing to a controlled state, and opened his eyes. He had been blown into a mountain of junk and rubble from the explosion and the metal had caved in on top of him. Percy attempted to lift his right leg, and with this remaining strength, he kicked.

He was shrouded in darkness, only slithers of light made it through to him. He breathed in again and kicked. Light poured in as some of the metal gave way. He could hear voices getting closer, to him. He licked his dry lips, only to taste blood. His mouth was caked in wet fresh blood. That disgusting metallic taste almost made him vomit.

"Percy? Percy where are you!?" He could hear the sound of Zoë's voice just outside his area. He then heard metal moving, and then suddenly light found its way to his face. He squeezed his eyes shut at the intruding light as two shadows appeared before him, block the sun out of his vision.

"By the gods… Percy, are you alright- holy shit!" Thalia choked, stepping back at the horrid sight of Percy's state. Luckily none of them had been injured except for Percy. The metal bar turned out to be rather large and thin, its width was quite wide, about seven centimeters across and had pierced his shoulder from back to front. Cutting right through his flesh like butter.

"Thalia, find my bag! There are bandages, medical supplies and ambrosia! Quick before we lose him to!" Zoë screamed. Thalia didn't need to be told twice and took off to find the huntress bag. Zoë knelled down in front of Percy and carefully stroked his face. Artemis would do the same thing to hunters who were critically injured. It calmed them in some way for form.

"Perseus, listen carefully to me. You need to stay with me now. You have lost a lot of blood and you're on the verge of a comatose state. You, Need, To, Stay, Awake!" Zoë said. Percy swallowed and breathed out. He could feel his arm coated in his blood, and he started to feel very sick, and light headed.

"Zoë…" Percy breathed out. He felt himself slipping away. The pain was just too much. Zoë started to panic, in her group with the hunters, she wasn't a sharp one when it came to medicine, but some of the others had given her some pointers. So she jerked Percy forwards a little bit. Percy's eyes shot wide open.

"AHHH!" He screamed. Pain and adrenaline surged through his body once more. He could feel his heart beat in his ears, going a thousand miles an hour, then starting to slow down. He was breathing heavily now.

"Percy you need to stay awake! You lose consciousness and you die! You can't do this right now! We need you!" Zoë said as she started to see him slipping away. She remembered the words Aphrodite had spoken to her previously, and was starting to see just how much of an impact Percy was having on her. "_I need you…"_

"Zoë!" Thalia came up to her with the bag. Zoë let go of Percy and ripped open the bag, pulling out various bottles, bandages and squares of ambrosia. She managed to get everything she needed. She quickly placed the item in front of her and turned back to Percy.

"Percy!" She yelled, gently slapping his cheek. He had well and truly passed out. Zoë growled and ripped him off the bloody metal bar that had pierced his shoulder. His sleeping form jerked a little before going limp. Zoë then placed him on a towel and began to disinfect the wound.

At the same time, Grover started to play his pipes, keeping Percy stabilized and alive while Zoë worked. Nature magic was one thing Grover was good at. Meanwhile Thalia and an emotionally destroyed Nico watched.

Zoë worked furiously to keep Percy alive. Percy was slipping in and out of consciousness, seeing only Zoë kneeling at his side, working on his shoulder. He watched her, with glazed and distant eyes. He could make out genuine care and fear of losing him in her eyes. Her eyes darted from one thing to the next, occasionally a hand would lift into his vision, only to see her beautiful hands covered in his blood.

Percy started to drift off once again, however this time her heard Grover say something.

"Zoë, you have to do it now! I'm losing him! He won't last much longer! He's lost to much blood!" He said with panic in his voice. Zoë growled as her eyes lit up with anger, determination and lastly… fear.

"I am not losing you as well!"

* * *

The group managed to find a working van a few miles outside of the junkyard. Grover using his naturally strong Satyr strength had no complaints carrying the unconscious son of Poseidon on his back. Zoë took the staring wheel while Thalia took the front seat. Grover lay Percy down in the back seat and rested the boy's head on his lap while the Satyr channeled some pain dulling magic into Percy's mind, to keep his thoughts and dreams pure.

Nico sat in the back with the others, but remained extensively quiet. The boy was pale white, emotionless and broken. He watch his sister ripped apart by an explosion, saving the quest group. He would admit it was a heroic way to go out if he wasn't so angry with himself for not being stronger. Grover reminded him that he was still young, and the life that Bianca had chosen was one that he shouldn't argue with. He grudgingly accepted it, however much he hated it.

"This is just great, Bianca is dead and Percy's out cold. What the hell are we going to do?" Thalia grumbled. Zoë ignored the girl and kept driving. The ride was rather quiet, and all they could hear was the slow steady breathing patterns that Percy exhaled. Zoë knew he would be out for a while.

She was feeling a little woozy and upset herself. She had lost Bianca and had to perform a risky blood transplant in order to keep Percy alive. With the medical help of Grover, she managed to save Percy's life and prevent him from dying from blood loss. However, she was strong, and she would remain that way as a fate worse than death awaited her at the end of this quest.

They eventually pulled up at a canoeing hire place. The river would take them upstream towards Hover Dam, and from there they could make their next move. Hopefully it would be easy to do, any more trouble and they would be placed in a very, very bad predicament.

They hired the boats they needed and traveled downstream. Zoë took the boat with Percy, while Thalia and Grover took another boat. Nico took a boat by himself because he was emitting an aura that frightened the group to a certain degree.

Percy's breathing was staying regular as his head lay on Zoë's lap. She tried hard not to do anything while they floated down river. Apparently with Percy on board, the naiads decided to lend a helping hand, due to the fact that their prince was on board. They carried the group down river towards the Dam.

Aphrodite's words were fresh in Zoë's mind, almost plaguing it like a disease. It was incredibly hard to concentrate on the task at hand with the boy she was crushing on for the first time in two thousand years. She carefully cradled his face, his head on her thighs. She would gaze off into the distance, a painful look on her face. She had done the same with Hercules when he had been injured, and look how that turned out. The only difference between the two was that Percy grew up with pain and hardship. Hercules was given almost everything, his strength his powers, his everything. Percy lost everything and gained strength off that.

She was almost afraid to admit it, but Percy _really_ grew on her. She found herself falling for him faster each hour. He was on her mind all the time, up there with Lady Artemis. Their little battle at camp had shown her that Percy was slightly different from the males she had encountered over the years.

Her thoughts drifted to when she first met Thalia, Annabeth and Luke for the first time. She had offered Annabeth and Thalia a place in the hunt, and they were hesitant and unwilling to abandon Luke so easily. She was annoyed and downright furious that those girls placed so much trust in that man, and just like she had said, Luke let them down and turned to Kronos. She had those thoughts about Percy too, until she traded blows with him. He was looking for a reason to fight, even his break down back in New Mexico… she was starting to have second thoughts.

They managed to get up Hover Dam and make into the food area where tourists rained in the hundreds. As they continued to walk, they managed to find a few seats. Zoë manipulated the mist around them to make it appear as if Percy was uninjured and talking with them. She was very good at it.

"What's our next move? We need to be in San Francisco by tomorrow or we are going to run out of time." Grover said looking towards Thalia and Zoë for a plan. Zoë scowled, they needed to keep moving, but the recent casualties had them slowing their pace. Percy was still unconscious and Zoë kept replacing the bandages.

"We find another ride, and make for Mount Othrys and rescue Lady Artemis, that's what we are going to do." Zoë said. Thalia raised an eyebrow and gestured towards Percy who sat in his chair almost completely lifeless. If you were an on looking demigod or clear sighted mortal, Percy side was covered in bloodied bandages and was breathing in and out steadily.

"What are we going to do with him? He's slowing us down… but we can't leave him…" Thalia said running a hand through her hair. Zoë rubbed her temples as she turned to Grover. He sighed.

"I can't do anything. I'm out of tune with nature here so I can't provide a safe travel back with him. I would if I could, believe me, but I can't. Nature doesn't respond very well around this particular area. We are too close to Titan territory." Grover said sadly. Zoë grumbled as she turned to Nico. The boy was still deathly pale and relatively ignoring the rest of the group.

"We will bring him with us, we will not be leaving him behind." Zoë said. As she said this, the entire food court erupted into panic. Woman and children screaming as monsters dashed out of nowhere, straight at the unprepared group. Zoë leaped up out of her seat only to be tackled to the ground by a hell-hound, however it turned to dust as a spear pierced the back of its neck turning it to dust.

Zoë managed to stand up, her head dazed and her eyes blurred from the impact. Thalia had saved her in that split second, but had realized they were all under attack from all angles. Nico was holding his own just fine, the darkness and ground would split open in his anger and swallow monsters whole, confirming his status as a Son of Hades. Monsters recognized Percy's weak form and attempted to capture him. Zoë growled and rushed to his aid.

The monsters dropped to dust in her fit of anger. Her powerful demigod aura glowed brightly as she stood protectively in front of Percy's defenseless form. He was bleeding again, his shoulder, despite mostly healed, was still leaking blood. She hissed at the remaining monsters, daring them to come even close to Perseus. They took heed of the warning and started to circle the two, cutting them off from the others.

The area had been emptied of civilians and had now been turned into a battle ground. Zoë's eyes darted from one monster to the next, their eyes trained exactly on her, but snapped to Percy's form in shock and confusion. She raised her eyes at this and turned to see Percy, shrouded in a red bubbly energy. His hands lifted into the air and flew through hand seals, despite him not even being conscious or awake to do it.

He placed his hand on his stomach and smoke popped around the area they were in, causing both her and the monsters to cough and splutter. As the smoke cleared, their eyes widened as a crimson red fox, about the size of a horse stood proudly and tall with nine lashing tails coming from behind him.

**"That was harder than I originally expected. Reverse summoning through the host is something I haven't tired in thousands of years. That was a pain."** Kurama growled as he leaped down from where Percy was lying. He was placed on a counter by Grover to keep him elevated so he wouldn't get trampled on.

**"Now, time to squash some bugs."** Kurama grinned sadistically, as he pounded into action. The monsters were nowhere near prepared for the assault and thrashing the fox gave them. Golden dust flowed like a river and skeletons that had been chasing them erupted in flame, turning their very bones to dust. Zoë and the rest of the quest group couldn't help but gawk in awe and shock as this fox rampaged through the area, incinerating and cutting down every single monster effortlessly.

**"This isn't even amusing! Put up a better fight than this! This is pathetic… and demigods fear you, how disgusting!" **The fox howled. The smaller and more fragile monsters were covered in a crimson red bubbly liquid before being incinerated just by being in the fox's presence. Zoë could feel the power radiating off the beast in front of her. It was in-calculable, so unrivaled, so raw and powerful, almost indescribable!

The fox let out a blood chilling roar, and the monsters caught in the sonic blast from the fox's mouth were destroyed in seconds. Those mythical monsters hadn't even had the chance to register the fear and scream before they were sent back to Tartarus in the most painful way possible. Kurama finished his howl, and looked around. Golden dust littered the place. He turned to the quest group who stood in guard of Percy's body.

**"It's good to see the Ningen getting some friends for once that would actually watch his back."** Kurama said as he walked over towards the boy. Zoë sensed the familiarity in the fox's tone as her eyes widened. She stepped back, in a bit of fear and awe. She did not know who this fox was, but she recognized the legend that he was… the Legendary Nine Tailed Fox, so ancient, so rare. He had only been sighted by humans for brief seconds. It's where his legend came from. Unfortunately, she and the hunt had never come across such a creature.

"You must be Percy's mentor… how did you get here? I thought he said you were trapped on Mount Othrys?" Zoë said in confusion. Kurama chuckled as he turned towards the huntress after examining the injured boy, transmitting a bit of his chakra over the boy to accelerate his healing.

**"I still am. Though I managed to send a portion of my power through the contract the Ningen made with me, and I managed to reverse summon myself. I could feel through our connection that you guys were in some serious trouble and he's too busy sleeping to help."** Kurama said. Zoë came to a realization, and so did Thalia and Grover. Nico was too busy looking at the very being that had given skill and experience to his hero.

"You're a physical manifestation of your power? You managed to send a conscious part of your own power through a bond to help us? How much power do you possess?!" Zoë almost screamed. That feat would take serious amounts of power. Artemis had never managed to do something like that, and only the big three and some of the higher titans and Giants were able to pull off something like that.

**"There are still a lot of things you haven't explored yet little huntress. I can use my power to transport you to San Francisco, but you'll be on your own from there. Time closes in, you must make it on time."** Kurama said as a red sheet of power covered the quest group, before they could even quest what was going on, they had vanished, Kurama smirking and disappearing back to Mount Othrys.

* * *

The quest group ended up being teleported outside of Annabeth's father's house. It was rather coincidental that they appeared here seeing as they had an injured boy holding them down, one who was still unconscious. Thalia had done most of the talking, seeing as the father recognized her and owed her a favor. They spent some time with him, gathering supplies and stocking up on ambrosia before leaving Percy with him. It was a gamble they had to take, but they couldn't afford to waste any more time.

With them leaving, they made their way into the city and decided to look around. Zoë and Grover were still following the trail while Nico walked along side Thalia silently. The daughter of Zeus tried to make casual conversation, but Nico ignored her. She couldn't blame him, he had just watched his sister get blown to bits. He must be in absolute disarray.

"We need to find Nereus. This is the area he hangs around in this type of weather. Hot, humid and smelly. He's the old man of the sea, said to know everything. He will know what to do." Zoë said as they hit a dead end on the trail. They were close, but they still had yet to figure out what the bane of Olympus was.

"Great, Seaweed boy would really be handy right about now." Thalia muttered. Grover sighed. They a fair idea as to where to look, but the idea Zoë came up was rather… not delightful.

"We follow the smell, that terrible sickening smell." Zoë said. Grover sniffed the air and felt like he just wanted to kneel over and die. It was a cross between sewage and seaweed. It was dreadful, especially to his Satyr senses. He could only describe it as foul.

Along the way, following the smell they fought a few stray monsters, not enough to draw unwanted attention to themselves. Zoë would manipulate the mist to mask their presence as a mere traveling street show group. Eventually however, they managed to find him, however Zoë stopped them from getting close.

"He can smell demigods from a mile away. He'll know and he'll escape." She said. However, Nico seemed to just walk forward, regardless of what Zoë had just said. However before she could stop him, and old man on the wharf got up and started running towards the water. Zoë was about to scream at Nico for his stupidity before he vanished into a shadow and appeared right in front of the man.

Black zombie like hands shot out of the ground and entangled the old wise sea god and effectively trapped him. He struggled, changing into different animals, trying to wriggle out of the binds that he was trapped in, however Nico ordered the arms to start to squeeze the life out of him.

"A child of Hades I see… hmm, never thought I would see the day when old death breathe would get out and get himself a nice mortal girl." The hands around him squeezed tighter, almost cutting off the circulation in his old fragile body.

**"I have no time for games old man, tell us what we need to know."** Nico said dangerously. There was a dangerous, insane glint in his eyes that spoke volumes of what he would do to the man if he didn't talk. Zoë, Grover and Thalia had managed to catch up, all three of them were shocked when they saw the power radiating off Nico and the type of bond Nereus was being held in.

"We seek the Bane of Olympus, what is it?" Zoë asked. Nereus eyed her carefully from his bonded prison. She felt rather uncomfortable as he cracked a smile and started laughing, which eventually turned into a full blown laughter.

"The blooming hunter, how nice to actually meet you in person. A lot of events in the future are shaped around you and that sage. How interesting, I didn't foresee the meeting of us." He smiled. Zoë growled while Grover and Thalia looked at her funny.

"Answer the question! What is the Bane of Olympus?!" She yelled angrily. Nereus sighed and managed to point towards the water behind where they were standing. Zoë walked over to the edge and looked over the side. Her blood almost went cold when she saw the creature that was swimming happily around in circles just below here.

"The Ophiotaurus… how could I have not seen this?" Zoë murmured. Grover's eyes widened while both Thalia and Nico seemed mildly confused. Nico kept a tight hold on Nereus with his power, making sure the slimy old man could slither out of his death grip while Thalia was trying to piece together where she had heard that name before.

"The power of sacrificing the innocent… very powerful, enough to topple the gods." Nereus said. Nico scowled as he gripped the man tighter, this time cutting off the circulation of the old man. He gasped as the pain made itself known to all of them.

**"Did I say you could talk?"** Nico growled, the dark aura growing all the more powerful around him. Zoë examined the boy from a far. She saw black smoke curling off the boy as if he had just had water thrown on him for being on fire. He was hot with anger, something that would not be quelled anytime soon.

"Ah, Nico Di Angelo, the time confused sibling of the supposed dead girl." He said. Nico froze, the grip on Nereus loosening for the slightest second before tightening. The shadows seemed to swallow the area around Nico, making both Grover whimper slightly and pushing Zoë and Thalia to ready their guard. A child of Hades when angered was extremely dangerous.

**"What do you mean supposed? Bianca is dead."** Nico said. Nereus just laughed.

"Did you find a body? Foolish demigods, there are forces even greater than the Titans at play here. Only the fox truly knows what lies in the darkest pits of this cursed world. The next sage has his plate full that's for sure." Nereus said. Nico's eyes shook with crazed anger.

**"Is Bianca alive?! Answer me! If you know where she is tell me!"** Nico yelled. Zoë was starting to lose her control on the mist around the area they were in. Mortals were starting to become curious as to what was going on, but luckily she maintained control.

"She is alive, but she hidden away by a force older than the Titans. She's in pain, quite a bit. I can feel it, she grows weaker, her will cracking… that is all I can say, and I have exerted my time here. I wish you luck in the future demigods, you will need it." Nereus said before vanishing into a green mist. Nico was about to scream out his name but he had already vanished.

"Damn it! At least I know she's alive. What could have taken her?" Nico said. He was back to his old self, the power and corruption of Hades leaving his system. Zoë brought in a deep breath and exhaled, relieving the stress that had been building, however there was still a problem at hand.

"Grover, take the Ophiotaurus and return to Olympus. They must know of this development. We cannot leave it here for it to fall into the enemy hands." Zoë said. However before they could even react, a new familiar voice spoke up.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Luke Castellan said walking onto the scene followed by Dr Thorn and a couple of other monsters. The group spun to face the new threat that had made itself known. The monsters were snarling, waiting for the command from either Luke or Thorn to attack the demigod group. They were two demigods down, one of them, effectively being the strongest.

"The Ophiotaurus is property of the Titans, and thus, I must be taking that thing from your custody now." Luke said. Thalia stepped forward, angry tears in her eyes, thoughts of betrayal and disgust clear on her face. Luke almost looked hurt if he wasn't so sure of himself.

"You bastard… what have you done with Annabeth!? Where is she?!" Thalia said, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't even look at Luke now without wanting to gut him for his betrayal. The thought that she used to like this guy made her sick, and brought tears to her face faster than anything could.

"She is safe from harm, I assure you, there has been no harm done to her." He said. Zoë growled, grinding her teeth. She knew she should have shot an arrow through this arrogant man's head when they first met so long ago. If she had, this whole Titan business might have taken a lot longer to take place. This horrible son of Hermes had been an instigator for these series of events.

"I knew you were bad news from the moment I met you Castellan. I should have killed you right then and there but I didn't because I still think people no matter who they are should be given a chance to make the most of themselves. How could you turn out this way, for what reason?" Zoë spat. Luke snarled.

"The gods need to pay for their ignorance. I have watched too many demigods stroll into camp with nothing but scars and mental trauma, and it's all the gods fault. What do they do? They just sit up there on their thrones doing nothing to help the children they sire! They need to be taught a lesson in humility." Luke said. Zoë almost laughed at the notion.

"And siding with the Titans is the way to go!? I should kill you now you idiotic child." Zoë retorted. Luke scoffed.

"As if you have any room to talk daughter of Atlas. The daughter of a Titan, criticizes a child of the gods for siding with her biological family, how the fates must be laughing at you Zoë Nightshade. Your own family hates you enough to cast you out of even ancient myths." Luke taunted. She unsheathed her hunting knives in a fit of anger.

"They are _not_ my family. The hunt is my life and forever will be until the day I die. Can you say the same? You are a tool to Kronos, and that's all you ever will be." She said with venom in her voice. Luke waved her off.

"The gods will pay one way or another, I will see Olympus razed, and your goddess will remain in chains as long as I see fit. This charade stops here, this area will be your grave." Luke said. Suddenly a voice echoed from behind Zoë and Thalia, a voice so chilling and dark that it scared even the monsters at Luke's side.

**"I'm afraid you are wrong there, you see… this will not end here."** Nico said walking forward. He snapped his fingers, his eyes going as dark, soulless, void of any mercy. The ground beneath the monsters opened up and swallowed them within a few seconds. Luke and Thorn had panic written all over their faces.

**"This is where it begins."** Nico said as he plunged his sword into the ground. Black smoke shot up around the area they were in, completely surrounding the remaining monsters, Luke and Thorn as well as trapping Zoë and Thalia with him. Zoë took this chance to push Grover out and order him to escape with the Ophiotaurus. He complied and was gone within the instant.

**"Rise servants of the damned, for I am your master. Let the alive weep in fear and the dead scream in agony."** Nico finished as the ground before him split open and a pack of hellhounds crawled out of the ground. Both Zoë and Thalia were horrified at the incantation Nico spoke.

"Where in the name of Olympus did he learn to speak like that?!" Thalia whispered in a panic to Zoë. The huntress grimaced as the ground started to shake, flaming dogs crawling their way out of the molten earth and making their way to Nico's side. She was rather worried about what was about to transpire.

"I don't think he learned it, it must be the instinct of a child of Hades, just like every demigod has an instinct for their parent's domain. Percy is always in tune with water, children of Zeus loves the sky, high places…" Zoë said, Thalia scowled at Zoë, the huntress silently apologizing for unknowingly mocking her for her ridiculous fear of heights.

"However, I haven't bore witness to many children of Hades over the millennia. He is a very secluded god and rarely interacts with mortals. Nico and Bianca must be within the very, very few children Hades has ever had. I think his power relates to incantations and cultists. Children of Hades tend to be very fragile with their mental states, and I think Bianca's death may have sent him over the line.

"What has Nico gone insane?" Thalia asked. Zoë shook her head mildly.

"No, I think he's hungry for souls." Zoë responded. Nico grinned crazily.

**"_Fetch me their souls."_** A ghostly voice hissed. The dogs went berserk and charged the remaining monsters. What could be only described as a blood bath took place. Monsters and dogs alike crumbled to dust as the battle started. Nico charged straight for Luke who was forced to defend himself as Nico's blade was encased with a black flame. Zoë could only gawk at the power Nico was displaying, however Thalia was clueless.

"Black fire? What in the name of Olympus? What is that?" Thalia asked. Zoë could only swallow, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. She wouldn't admit it, but this Nico actually frightened her. He was only ten or eleven years old but the darkness and stench of death seemed to flow around him, fueling his power and anger, even with the inexperience he had with a blade was still causing problems for Luke, because both he and Zoë knew what that fire meant.

"It's Soul Fire. It's said only Hades could use that power, it could strike past mortal flesh and wound even the soul. It's a very destructive and tormenting power to think about. The very thought of Nico utilizing it… how can he use it when no other demigod in _history_ that has been a child of Hades has been recorded of using it?" Zoë thought.

"Whatever it is he is doing, he needs our help, come on Zoë!" Thalia said unleashing her spear and shield, charging into battle. Zoë scowled before quickly notching and arrow and firing it within the space of a second. The arrow landed pinpoint on Dr Thorn's right eye, causing the Manticore to scream in pain. Finally, Thalia finished the job and gutting the Manticore as he went up on his hind legs. He didn't have a chance to scream again before he was sent right back to Tartarus.

"That's one problem dealt with, now onto our next."

Luke had just finished kicking Nico off of him. The brat was slightly skilled with a sword, but his anger was making him a brawler and hard to deal with, especially the power that was circling his blade. It was a tough thing to notice, but to him, he wasn't sure the Curse of Achilles was going to help him here.

"You've managed to surprise us here, but be sure that it won't happen again. Turn back and leave this place, or I will be forced to cut you down if you progress any further." Luke said retreating back to Mount Othrys. Nico growled as he watched Luke's retreating form. The ground opened back up and the hell-hounds crawled back down to their home.

"Coward." Nico spat. Thalia was rather upset while Zoë was still standing tall and tough. She wouldn't let her feelings fail the group. She had to keep up her strength so that the moral of the group so that they wouldn't crumble to pieces, especially with Grover guiding the Ophiotaurus back to safety and out of reach of the Titans, and Percy out cold. However it seemed like Bianca wasn't actually dead, but hidden somewhere and it had seemed to return some of Nico's sanity.

"Come, we must follow him. We must save Artemis before Nightfall or die trying." Zoë said. There were no complaints. They had come this far, and they were intending to see this through. There was nothing that would stop them now. Thalia, Zoë and Nico, the only remnants of the group decided to make their way towards Mount Othrys, unknowingly of what awaited them.

It took them a few hours but they managed to reach the Garden of the Hesperides, the ex-sisters of Zoë. She was reluctant to enter at first but seeing no other option the three progressed into the garden together, only the huntress knowing what they might find. Surely enough, it was only a few minutes after stepping into the garden that her ex-sisters made their appearance.

"Sisters." Zoë said respectively. The three woman sneered at her, making both Nico and Thalia growl. Nico wasn't having any of this, and out of anger, once more, black tendrils radiated from him, emitting a dark dangerous aura around him. The Hesperides stepped back in unison, in fear of the child of the damned.

"We see no sister here, only a huntress, a child of death, and a child of Zeus." One of them said. Zoë felt rather sad, being here again and seeing them. She hadn't seen them or talking to them in two thousand years. It had been so long since they striped her from her powers and immortality and cast her out. However, she still had a soft spot for them.

"We require safe passage through the garden towards the Mount. Step aside or get stepped on." Nico said dangerously. Zoë nudged him. Despite her dislike towards her sisters for casting her out, she still held a decent amount of respect for them. They were still biological family after all, she couldn't hate them, and however she did hate her father.

"Insolent child! None of you will be any sort of match against our father. Atlas is one of the most powerful Titans, you stand no chance in comparing to him or saving your pathetic goddess." Another sister said. Zoë growled, if there was one thing you did not do in her presence, it was insult the goddess who had been nothing but a mother to her.

"You will step aside on personal command of Lord Zeus himself." Thalia growled. The sisters snarled.

"Make us." They said. Zoë growled, then smirked.

"Fine… Awake! Ladon!" Zoë yelled out. There was a groaning roar from the tree in the distance. A horrific monster with more heads than anyone could count awoke. It stared menacingly into the distance before getting to its feet and circling the tree defensively. The Hesperides sisters looked at Zoë as if she had gone crazy.

"You have a death wish Nightshade, you will regret awaking Ladon. Insane child." The sisters said as they ran off away from Ladon. Zoë cursed her sisters, knowing and reminding herself that Ladon had always favored her over the others. Zoë walked carefully towards Ladon, showing no signs of hostility.

"Zoë! What are you doing?!" Thalia hissed. Nico was also wide eyed, watching the brave hunter walk towards her potential doom. The lieutenant turned and looked at the two out of the corner of her eye.

"Ladon will recognize me. I always use to sing to him. Get around the tree while I distract him. I will make sure he does not see you. Just make sure you do not make a sound when moving around the tree." Zoë said as she turned back walk forward towards the large dragon. It hissed and snarled, egging her to come closer to it could sink its teeth into her flesh, however was suddenly paralyzed as a familiar singing voice sounded in the area.

What could only be described as an angel singing to the heavens could be heard! Ladon stopped hissing and tilted its head in an obvious confusion, however it then brought its heads down to the ground, on eye level with the source of the beautiful singing. Both Thalia and Nico were stunned to begin with, but snapped out of their stump as Zoë frantically motioned for them to move.

As quietly as they could, they slipped around the tree and onto the other side as Zoë's beautiful singing distracted Ladon. The dragon seemed almost at peace however, when Zoë got within range, it turned violent, remembering what had happened. It thrashed at her angrily, forcing her to stop singing and dodge. One of the fangs managed to nick her, sizzling her flesh badly. She cried out in pain, but soldiered through, managing to evade the rest of Ladon's attacks and join her group members.

"Zoë! Are you okay? You're hurt." Nico said with concern. Zoë moaned as she ripped off the cloth that Ladon had snagged. She was bleeding heavily. The wound already looked infected. It basically sealed her fate. Artemis would have enough power to heal this, and with Percy not here, she was wondering what the last line of the prophecy meant.

"I'll be fine. Let's keep moving." Zoë said bandaging her wound. She didn't bother to disinfectant the wound because if this didn't eventually kill her, her father would. She knew her fate was death, and was already ready to face it. She wasn't the type to just shy away from the prospect of death. She would face it head on, and refuse to back down to it.

As they continued to climb Mount Othrys, they noticed the obsidian castle like palace to be rebuilding itself with some kind of magical force. It was a majestic sight to see, and would have been really amazing if it weren't so creepy. Black clouds circled the fortress like some kind of cheesy horror movie.

"I'm not sure what's more creepy. The fact that the Titan Olympus is rebuilding itself, or the fact that the sky looks like it's about to send this place into the next dimension. Please tell me we aren't too late." Thalia said. Nico grumbled as Zoë was breathing heavily. She could feel the deadly acid burning her body from the inside out.

"The power of the Titans is returning. War is guaranteed, this is not looking good for us at all." Zoë said. Nico walked over to the edge of the mount and looked down. His senses weren't wrong. He had started to see mortal spirits wandering the land, lost and confused. However they served to be his scouts as they started to whisper to him, warning him. It was something he was still getting use to since the Junkyard.

"We have a big problem." Nico said pointing downwards. Zoë and Thalia joined him looking over the edge and down to the bottom of the mount. There walking up the dirt road to the top, was a fully-fledged army of monsters that had walked off a cruise ship that was docked at the bottom of the mount.

"There's got to be at least a thousand of them. We can't fight all of them." Nico said. Zoë growled as she turned to walk back to the top of the mount. They had no other choice to continue on forwards to their destination.

"We have to keep going. No turning back. This is our end game. We must push on." Zoë said. The other two nodded and joined her as they made their way towards the dark fortress, the insane force of darkness clouding the area they were heading to. It had a dark evil feeling to the area they were in. Not quite like death, but like the road towards it, and they felt out of place. Maybe because this was the place of the Titans instead of the Olympians.

As they walked through the doorways, they made their way silently to the main throne room where Atlas was condemned to holding the sky for all eternity. When they entered, they saw Artemis, her eyes clenched in pain while holding the sky. Her aura was faulting and wavering, her godly form weakening with each passing moment. She looked absolutely exhausted.

"Milady!" Zoë rushed to her side. Artemis's eye's widened in shock and confusion. She couldn't believe her lieutenant was here at her side! Why had Chiron issued the quest? They had fallen into his trap perfectly!

"Leave! You must leave before it is too late! It is a trap Zoë. He is waiting and has been all this time. I was the bait Zoë Nightshade. Run, escape while you still can!" Artemis commanded. Zoë shook her head violent tears leaking from her eyes.

"I'm sorry Milady, but I refuse to follow such an order. We came here to save you, and that is exactly what we are going to do." Zoë retorted. Artemis was forced to smile, but before she could respond with a heart filled sentence, a booming laughter tore through the darkness of the castle. Zoë's head turned slowly to the source as the man responsible for this entire thing walked into plain view.

"Father…" Zoë growled, venom in her voice. Atlas chuckled hearty. He was dressed in combat imperial golden armor fit for a general of an army. He had his spear at his side, and he looked like he was ready to spill blood for the conquest of the Titans.

"What a pleasure, Zoë Nightshade. How fitting to see my pathetic disappointment of a daughter grovelling at the feet of a goddess in chains. How far you have fallen. You disgust me." Atlas sneered. Zoë stood up, revealing her hunting knives in both hands, having already cut Artemis's chains free from her.

"I'm going to take pleasure in cutting you to pieces _father._" She said with disdain. Atlas chuckled a little at his daughter's blatant hatred for him. He remembered the day he watched her walk away from him and her sisters after they had effectively disowned her. He had been opposed to the idea at the time and generally was concerned about her all those years ago, but as soon as he heard that one of his flesh and blood and joined that disgusting moon goddess, his disdain and disgust for her was born.

"You can try, you may even have the first move. Go on, I won't even try to block." Atlas said. Zoë hesitated, her anger not just for her father but for arrogant and vile males in general. Two thousand years of bottled hatred was about to spill out, and not in a good way. Nico joined her at her side, ready to fight, his dark aura influencing her in strange ways, empowering her and making her more angry than usual.

Thalia was off to the side, engaged in a battle with Luke who had entered the scene a short while ago and pulled Thalia to the side. Annabeth was bound with her arms behind her back and her ankles tied. She was also exhausted, grey strains of hair clear in her luscious blonde hair.

"I know Percy isn't here, but I swear I will fight on his behalf. I will fight by your side Zoë. I may not agree with you in terms of letting Bianca join the hunt, but I respect her decision now, and thus, I will fight with you." Nico said. Zoë nodded.

"Thank you Nico. If we survive this, I will stop at nothing to find Bianca, and then we can punish her captor together." Zoë said. Nico nodded and charged Atlas with Zoë close behind him. She fired off a couple of arrows as Nico summon his Hell-hounds to him. Atlas resumed a defensive stance as the three fighters clashed.

Nico took the primary offensive, using his powers over darkness to empower him to attempt to match Atlas's physical strength. Naturally and obviously it wasn't enough to full match and Nico was still significantly weaker than him, but one lesson Percy taught him occurred to him. If he couldn't match him in power, then excel past him in speed.

Nico used short distance and quick shadow travels to confuse and throw Atlas off, but the Titan of Endurance and Strength was a well versed fighter and matched it, not with speed, but with intelligence. However while he was matched with the son of Hades, he still had to worry about his daughter who was firing off arrows at all of his weak spots.

"Curse you two, this isn't honorable combat." Atlas said blocking a volley of arrows. Nico growled as he managed to slash Atlas's left leg, cutting deep into the muscle. Atlas yelled in pain, and instantly forced some of his divine power to heal and mend the spot that had been injured.

"This is a battle of life and death, there is no such thing as honorable. What good is honor when you're dead!?" Nico yelled again clashing with Atlas's spear. Nico was thankful his sword was holding up against this Titan's divine weapon. Atlas growled. This boy was a sniveling mess not a few days ago back in New York, what kind of mental and physical change had he undergone to acquire such an aggressive form of offensive?

"Such barbaric tactics. It will be justified to end your existence here boy!" Atlas boomed. The ground ripped apart and a pack of hell-hounds sprang out of the ground and attacked Atlas all over. The Titan lost his balance as the dogs pounced him and chowed into his armor. Atlas in a fit of rage broke the sword lock he had with Nico and kicked the small demigod back.

The son of Hades flew backwards skidding to the goddess's feet who was still trapped under the sky. Nico cursed as he got up. His head was killing him, but he had to act smart here. He knew he was young, but this journey had forced him to mature. This was no game, they could all die here and it could be riding on a decision that he had to make.

He turned to Artemis.

"Give me the sky." She looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Give you the sky!? Have you completely lost it? It will crush you. Don't act stupid, get back there and help my Lieutenant!" Artemis ordered. Nico was close to breaking. He got right up to Artemis's face, anger and rage written all over it. He was not going to take shit from this goddess, and he did not care who she was.

"Listen you! I don't care if you're a divine entity or not! My sister is probably dead, and the only person who I'm even remotely close to is in a coma! I'm not nearly as skilled enough to fight Atlas, even with the aid of my powers. You're more of a match than I am, so** SHUT UP AND GIVE ME THE SKY!**" Nico boomed.

He didn't wait for the goddess to answer. He slipped under the sky and shoved her out of the way, causing her to fall to the ground. He took the weight of the sky, grunting as he did so. The force was unbearable, but his hatred rose, and so did his power. Black flames burned around him as a black death like helmet appeared above his head. Nico screamed in blind anger and rage as his entire body radiated black smoky power.

"The blessing of Hades, what power…" Artemis said with awe. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen this display of pure brute strength from will alone. Hades must have been aiding the boy, his anger giving him the power and strength needed to control the forces of darkness.

Artemis wanted to yell back at the boy, scold him and smack the boy for even daring to yell at her, but now was not the time. He had made it pretty clear that he was no match for Atlas, and seemed to think she had the best chance of matching him. She quickly summoned her gear, restoring some of her strength with the ambrosia she was carried in emergencies and took off to fight Atlas at the side of her Lieutenant.

* * *

Percy awoke to find himself on a comfy bed. He sat up slowly, the pain in his shoulder had vanished, but as he looked to his left, his entire left shoulder, right down the mid-section of his arm was covered in bandages. Some of which had looked like they had been replaced quite recently.

He looked around, he was in some kind of room. It was quite clearly a girl's room, judging by the stuff and smell. The bed he was lying on was a pinkish colour and the room was lined with books, paper, blue prints, and architecture stuff.

Where was he? Where was the group? What was happening? He stood up, feeling a little bit woozy and managed to make his way out of the room and down a flight of stairs and into the living room. The quest group was nowhere to be seen. Percy sat down on the couch, deep in thought. What day was it? How long had he been out?

All these questions and he had no idea what was going on, and where his group was. He frowned as he looked out the window, it was midday and judging by the silence, he was here alone. He sighed as he got up and moved his shoulder around a little.

"Hello there!" A voice said from behind him. Percy spun around to see a middle aged man. The strange frazzled man had blonde hair and brown eyes, and he seemed to be covered in grease, probably from building something.

"Uh, Hi…?" Percy said sheepishly. He wasn't quite sure if he was still asleep or awake. The last thing he remembered was Zoë tending to his wounds and healing him. Where were they, they didn't seem to be around at all. He was seriously starting to get concerned.

"You must be that Percy Jackson fellow those youngsters brought in with them when they arrived. There is some food on the table if you want to take a bite to eat." He said with a smile. Percy was stunned and happily took up the offering of food. They were just some sandwiches, but for some reason, his stomach as growling and he felt extremely hungry.

"Excuse me, uh, sir? Do you know where they went?" Percy asked heading for the door, and past the man. Percy opened the door before the man could respond and what Percy saw shocked him. He was in the middle of San Francisco! This brought him so many more questions that needed to be answered.

"They left around an hour or two ago. They were heading to Mount Othrys to complete their quest. They told me they would be back to pick you up after they rescued my daughter and Artemis. Your condition would hinder them if they continued to carry you around the place." He said. Percy turned back to look at him strangely.

"How long was I out?" Percy asked. The man raised an eyebrow.

"A day and a half. That nice boy Grover had been carrying you around. Once they got you here they managed to finish treating you. It was a miracle you were still alive after all the blood you had lost. If it hadn't been for that huntress girl, you would have surely died!" The man exclaimed with a light chuckle.

Percy cursed to himself lightly. They had already left, and were probably already at the mountain confronting Atlas and attempting to free Artemis. Kurama was still up there! He had to get there now! There was no more time left!

"Alright thanks Mr… eh, what's your name?" Percy said, feeling slightly embarrassed. The man smiled friendly. If Percy didn't know any better, he swore he could have seen some fear in his eyes.

"Fredrick Chase. Annabeth's father." He said with a smile. Percy just smiled back and saluted.

"Thank you for having me Mr Chase, I need to go now and help my friends, and your daughter. I'll see you later I guess!" Percy said as the boy took off. The man smiled as he watched the boy take off. As soon as the boy was out of sight, a grim frown crossed his face as he turned to walk back to the workshop. He had celestial bronze bullets to make, and some bastard kidnapping monsters to mow down.

As soon as Percy had left Fredrick's sight, the boy gathered Sage Chakra with haste. He had no time to lose and he could already tell a vicious battle was about to take place on Mount Othrys. The natural energy from what Percy could make out in sage mode, was gathering in a dark fashion around the mountain. The negative energy was incredible and suffocating!

With haste, Percy burnt rubber and sped through the streets of San Francisco and up the Mountain. The Mountain that Percy had started to climb with incredible speed, was actually Mount Tamalpais, which housed the broken form of the Titan version of Olympus. However as Percy ascended to the top of the mountain alone, he found that the fortress was slowly rebuilding itself.

As he ascended, he passed through the Gardens of Hesperides. During his dream with Zoë, who he had taken to not mentioning in great detail due to her emotional state inside the dream, he could depict that she was previously a sister of the Hesperides, however her helping Hercules must have been the factor that had forced her to find Artemis and join the hunters.

Finally he came to his first road block, Ladon, the infamous dragon type creature that's breath was acidic and melted bone like butter on a frying pan. It seemed to be awake and aggravated as its heads were lashing around viciously, as if trying to hit and bit something that wasn't there.

However Percy spotted something, a piece of silver fabric caught on one of its teeth, and that specific tooth had spots of red human blood on it. Percy grunted as he examined it from a distance. From his deduction, Zoë had tried to reason with the creature and tried to communicate with it like she could a long time ago. However obviously it had turned sour and attacked. From what he could see, she had taken a hit, and he knew from Legend that taking a hit from that dragon was almost guaranteed death.

Zoë was hit. Zoë was hurt. That made him both angry and terrified.

Why did that bother him so much? Oh that's right, because he really liked her. Ever since he met her back in Maine, he had provoked her when her words had hit him rather harshly, causing him to lash back at her, something that he wouldn't have done if done by anyone else. Something about her caught his eye, and ever since then, a place for her was always reserved in his mind.

Using his training he had received from Kurama, Percy easily ran towards the dragon, leaping with ease between his multiple acid-dripping heads with sage mode activated. The dragon could not even get its jaws even remotely close to the fox sage. Percy's senses were through the roof, and knew what was coming from every angle. He had been using this mode for years, and was close to mastering it completely.

Percy emerged from the other side of the dragon and continued towards the darkening fortress that held Atlas, Artemis, Kurama and the rest of the group. However Percy noted that there was a burning on his left shoulder. His wound hadn't quite healed yet, but the medical treatment Zoë had given him had definitely sped up the process of healing him. He would have to ask her what she did.

Finally as he got closer to the top of the fortress, he started to hear voices, and raised ones at that. The sound of fighting echoed off the obsidian marble walls of the castle. Percy slowed to a fast walk as he made his way through the corridors, weaving through unaware monsters. As Percy made his way towards the commotion he noticed an entire army of monsters emerging from a boat at the bottom of the mountain, from the opposite side he had come up, and they were slowly but surely making their way up.

Percy dashed through doorways until finally he came to the main room. Inside Artemis and Zoë stood facing off against Atlas, while Thalia was fighting another boy much older than him. His eyes drifted over to Nico who was suffering under the sky. His face was beat red, his eyes bulging from the intense weight of the sky. He was also crying, but they were tears of anger and sadness. Using the loss of his sister to make him stronger, the fatal flaw of Hades was holding grudges, and he was holding a heavy grudge towards the people that caused her to fall into that unfavorable circumstance, and that was Atlas.

His anger was giving him strength.

Percy was peering into the room, scanning for openings until he saw a blonde girl on her knees. Her blonde hair had streaks of grey in them, obviously from holding the sky. The rest were engaged in an intense battle. However Grover was nowhere to be seen.

Percy was suddenly brought back to the confrontation with Artemis, Zoë and Atlas. The General had broken the guard on both girls and thrown them backwards. Artemis grunted as she was thrown back into a wall, leaving a dent in it. Zoë however was caught by Atlas and lifted up to his face.

"What a disgusting sight for a daughter of mine. All smitten with the virgin goddess and her pathetic squad of weak little girls. I see this fitting, the first blood in a new war!" Atlas boomed. Artemis was too dazed to react.

"Don't expect me to beg Atlas." Zoë spat. The Titan boomed with laughter as he disarmed her and threw her to the ground. Artemis growled, her silvery aura growing larger with every action taken against Zoë. She shot forward without another word, but was hit hard when Atlas spun around and hit her hard with the blunt end of his spear.

Artemis slid across the floor, dazed and defenseless. The Titan growled and rolled his eyes.

"Pathetic as always. For a goddess who praises the strength and will of the female gender, you are disgustingly weak and predictable." Atlas sneered. Golden Ichor was leaking from countless slashes and stabs on Artemis's body. Atlas was in a rather similar state, but was bearing the pain a lot better than she was.

"Leave Zoë alone! It's me you want right?" Artemis said trying to stand to her feet. She tried to look ready for battle but she wasn't doing a very good job at it. Atlas just laughed and walked over towards Zoë and raised his spear. Zoë swallowed hard and closed her eyes. This was her fate, she would die to the hand of her father…

This was her fate.

"Good bye… daughter." Atlas said as he projected his spear towards her heart. Tears flowed from Artemis as she tried to force her body to respond but it refused. All she could do was watch as the spear of the Titan pierce her best friend's heart. However, out of nowhere, a blur shot towards Zoë and caught the spear dead on, stopping and halting its decent. Atlas's eyes widened.

"If you want to kill her, you going to have to kill me first, and I guarantee I'm not so easy to kill you bastard." Percy growled as he pushed him back. Atlas stumbled back but held onto his spear. Percy held onto the end of it firmly, blood leaking from his hand, but he didn't care. As long as Zoë was safe from harm, he would do everything in his power to protect her.

Atlas, for the first time got a good look at Percy Jackson. Their chance meeting back in the Museum was interesting but this was a real stand-off, and a real display of the prophecy child's power, and to be very honest with himself… the pure power to stop his spear dead on, this strength, and those crimson slit eyes. A look of pure hatred and desire to protect.

Zoë opened her eyes as soon as she heard that voice. She looked at the back of Percy, standing tall in front of her, acting as her shield from her father. She couldn't figure out what was more surprising. The fact that he was standing in front of her right now, or the fact that he was alive and well enough to fight again.

"Percy! You're okay..!" Zoë said with happiness. However she suddenly turned to scowl at him, her happiness fading away to a look of anger and annoyance.

"What the hell are you doing here you idiot! You're supposed to be resting! Not trying to get yourself killed again!" Zoë practically screamed. Percy just chuckled as he pulled the spear from Atlas's grip and snapped it over his knee, much to the horror of said Titan. He sighed, he may as well come out with his feelings now. He may die here, so he might as well live it out as he can.

"I would be lying if I said that I just ran all the way up here now just to save Kurama and Artemis, but what also occurred to me was that I didn't want you to do this without me." Percy said. The look on Zoë's face was utterly priceless. Artemis and Atlas even more so. Zoë blushed and stepped back, her heart racing at an overdrive. The poison in her system from Ladon's attack was still weakening her, but she was still ready to fight at any time, however right at this moment she was frozen in a state of shock.

"Now isn't exactly the time for this…" Artemis couldn't help but groan. However, being the idiot Percy happened to be, he continued regardless.

"At the beginning of all of this, I was arrogant and spiteful. I thought I could do everything by myself. I had the power and skills to do so as well, but considering how easily one can fall, I started to see just how much of an error that was. You're much smarter than me, and warned me not to do the things I did, and you were right Zoë. I was an idiot, naïve fourteen year old boy who didn't know any better." Percy said, not taking his eyes off Atlas.

"I don't care if you hate me, but you have been the first person to teach me the value of friendship and having people around you. Without you Zoë, I would have died in that junkyard." Percy said. Zoë's heart stopped figuratively. Her hands were shaking as she brought her hands close to her chest. She was completely at a loss at how to react to all this. Then he said those words that literally turned her entire world upside down.

"I think I'm in love with you." Percy said with a smile as he turned to her. Zoë just stared at him, unsure of how to respond. Artemis felt like dying right then and there. That was possibly… the most ridiculous confession she had ever heard.

"JACKSON, THERE IS A TIME AND A PLACE AND NOW IS NOT THE TIME!" Artemis screamed in frustration. Percy turned to her indignity and pouted sadly.

"Hey, I'm facing potential death in the face! I'm entitled to speak my mind!" He replied indignantly. Artemis groaned, the timely nature of this confession couldn't have been worse. Zoë was blushing madly, both from the blood rush and the acid that was burning her from the inside out.

"Percy you idiot…" Zoë muttered blushing madly.

Percy just sighed as he turned back to Atlas with a growl, pulling out a bronze pen that made Zoë gasp. He uncapped it as it sprang to life. It was a gift from Kurama a long time ago. He didn't use it often, but for this occasion, he would make use of it.

"That's why I'm going to put this asshole down, and put him back in his place so he doesn't bother you again." Percy snarled. Atlas's eyebrows rose as the Titan burst into hysterical laughter. A singular demigod challenging a Titan? It was unheard of, not without the assistance of a god of course.

"A touching confession Perseus Jackson, I must appalled you for that. However, even with your strange strength and unnatural abilities, I assure you that alone, you have no chance of defeating me." Atlas boasted. Percy just grinned.

"I never said I was doing it alone." Percy chuckled. Atlas looked around comically as if to look for another challenger to join the fight, completely ignoring Artemis, much to her irk. As much as it hurt her pride to think this, it was up to Percy now to fight this battle. Most of her godly power had been drained from holding up the sky, and then fighting Atlas.

"Oh? And who are you going to fight with? Artemis? Please, look at her, she can't even stand up." Atlas laughed. However that laugh was cut off by a sudden burst of demonic red energy that erupted from one of the doorways leading into the room. In the darkness, a pair of two demonic red slit eyes opened.

**"I'm sure I will fit the roll quite nicely, puny Titan."** A deep voice sounded from behind the Titan. The Titan spun around only to see a seven tailed fox dash out of the darkness and launch straight for him. Atlas had no time to react as the fox sunk its teeth in the shoulder of the Titan. Golden Ichor flew everywhere as the fox disengaged and landed next to Percy. The Titan howled in pain.

"It's about time, what the hell were you doing Kurama?" Percy said with a smirk. The ancient fox grinned sadistically. Kurama was easily the size of a truck, a little bit taller than Atlas's Titan form. Percy just remained standing by the large demon fox while all other fights ceased. Thalia and Luke had come to a halt in their emotional battle to watch the battle that was about to unfold between Percy, the fox against Atlas. Zoë's mind was in overdrive, and Artemis was just smiling.

**"Foolish Ningen, I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. I didn't want to get involved if I didn't have to. However with Artemis down, it looks like I have to step in."** Kurama grinned. Atlas looked at the chakra demon with wide eyes.

"What in the name of Tartarus are you!? What kind of vile creature are you fox?" Atlas's voice trembled with fear as he stood up and took out his personal sword. Kurama licked his lips, ignoring the Titan's question.

**"I've never eaten a Titan before… I wonder how tasty they will be."** Kurama wondered out loud, laughing at Atlas's horrified expression. Percy just sighed.

"You can't eat him Kurama, he needs to go back under the sky." Percy said with a slight chuckle. Kurama howled with laughter, laughter that shook the entire fortress from head to toe.

**"I'm sure there are plenty more Titans I can devour. I'm sure I can skip this one, he doesn't look all that tasty anyway."** Kurama snarled. Before Atlas could even respond, Kurama roared. A vicious wall of wind and intense force slammed against the titan, completely throwing him off his feet.

Percy took this opportunity to dash towards the Titan and deliver countless blows to the titan, spilling golden blood all over the polished obsidian marble floor. Percy then proceeded to pound the Titan's face into the ground with his enhanced strength. Sure enough, Atlas exploded in rage.

Percy got up from Atlas and retreated from the glowing Titan, radiating anger, pain and rage from being outclassed by a fox and a demigod. Kurama had to see the irony here, he had witnessed his old friend outdo just about every opponent he came across, even when all the odds in the world were stacked against him. Looking at Percy, it was almost like looking at the blonde idiot once more, and he was proud to be standing by his side.

"ENOUGH!" the Titan bellowed so loud that the foundations of the building shook. "I WILL NOT HUMILIATED BY A CHILD OF POSEIDON AND A STUPID FOX!" Atlas raised his spear, which Percy and Kurama got into a defensive form for. Atlas charged stupidly. Kurama reacted first, dashing to his side and wrapping his tails around Atlas binding him and restricting his movements completely.

"NO WHAT IS THIS!?" Atlas struggled against the bounds of Kurama's tails, but the fox only tightened them. Atlas was about to bellow again, but all the air left the Titans lunged. Percy had delivered a well-aimed, fully powered Senjutsu punch right into his abdomen. Percy then proceeded to deliver the same punch over and over.

Golden ichor flew out of the Titans mouth over and over, and to finally finish off the humiliation. Percy leaped into the air and round house kicked Atlas in the face, sending the Titan flying right towards Nico, who slid out just in time for the sky to collapse right back on top of Atlas. The man was too beaten and bruised to even let out complaints.

Kurama then shrunk down to a much smaller fox and leaped onto Percy's good shoulder. The seven tails the fox previously had, retracted leaving him with two tails now. Percy breathed out as he let the Senjutsu fade from his body, and falling prey to exhaustion effects. Percy turned to see Thalia looking for the boy she was fighting, and cursed as she found that he had escaped in the chaos, and instead, rushed over to Annabeth instead.

Artemis was carefully treating to Zoë, who was now in a state of confusion and pain. Percy decided it was best to keep his distance while Kurama just smiled on his shoulder. Artemis had managed to reserve some of her godly power to restore Zoë's from and health. She was save, because of Percy's interference at the last minute.

**"You know, this reminds me of a lot of times my old friend use to act around females. He had no clue what to do and always decided to stick to what his instinct told him to do."** Kurama commented as the two observed Artemis treat Zoë's injuries. Percy just sighed.

"I've fallen for her Kurama. Somehow, in some way, I've fallen for a huntress who hates males with an absolute passion. This sucks." Percy said as he turned away and walked over to the edge of the room, looking out over the city of San Francisco. Night had fallen and the beautiful moon had risen.

**"Love works that way sometimes. In time it will become clear. You just have to bear with it. It was no easier for him."** Kurama said. Percy sighed once again, this time out of annoyance. Kurama always referred his old friend, but never saw in giving Percy the name of this person.

"You're never going to tell me who 'Him' or 'my old friend' is, are you?" Kurama just laughed as he turned to Percy. The fox clearly had something planned for him.

**"You will find out for yourself soon enough. I have already made plans, now I just have to wait to see if my predictions are correct."** Kurama said with a smile. Percy just looked at him, then shook his head and returned to star gazing. It wasn't for another few minutes that Percy was brought out of his thoughts by a voice.

"Perseus Jackson." The voice belonged to Artemis. She was standing, regaining her power by the second. She had her eyes closed, her silvery aura returning. When she opened her eyes again, they were full of life.

"I would like to have a serious conversation with you about your confession towards my best friend, but for now, we must make haste for Olympus. Please step aside." She said. Percy nodded and stepped to the side, allowing Artemis to step out. After a few moments she had summoned her chariot and everyone hopped on.

Percy sat at the back, while Artemis sat at the front with Zoë. Thalia sat with Annabeth in the second row of seats, Nico sat off by himself, struggling to stay awake from all the power he exerted while under the sky, while Percy and Kurama remained in the back. Percy then turned to Kurama.

"You said you made plans. What did you mean by that?" He asked. Kurama closed his eyes, the wide brushing his orange fur. His small form perched on the seat next to Percy could be considered adorable. However this was a being capable of leveling mountains at the peak of his power.

**"I had a small chat with our friendly neighboring goddess over there. I will say this now, that ever since then, she has been going through some of the changes Zoë has been going through. Her hatred is dulling."** Kurama said. Percy looked at the back of Artemis, silently watching the two huntress's converse with each other.

"I noticed she was a lot calmer when she addressed me." Percy analysed. The son of Poseidon ran a hand through his thick black hair and sighed. What exactly was the fox trying to imply? Sure Percy was quite intelligent, but he was still rather dense, and even he had to admit that.

"What happened?" He asked. Kurama just huffed and rolled his eyes.

**"Listen… the uprising of the Titans is a concern in itself, but there is something underlying going on here. I have been feeling a presence lately, and it feels very familiar but I can't put a finger on what it is. It's scared me and I needed to act."** Kurama explained. Percy narrowed his eyes.

"It scared _YOU?_ What aren't you telling me?" Percy asked with disbelieve in his voice. What force on this world could possibly scare the great nine tailed fox? What kind of force could that possibly be?

**"Just be prepared for anything Percy. Kronos might be the least of your problems soon if my hunches are telling the truth. Something is going to happen soon, and it's going to bring about the end of the world. An ancient evil is lurking."** Kurama said. Percy shuddered. The lord of time was a serious power and here Kurama was telling him that he might be the least of his problems?

"I don't like the sound of that one bit. I've got enough on my plate now. I'm sure Artemis hates me for confessing to Zoë like that. That and I'll probably die to the prophecy if it isn't about Thalia." Percy said off-handily.

**"She will be joining the Hunters. She already knows she's not strong enough to bear the weight of a prophecy like that. Plus, the prophecy refers to a 'he', and it's obviously not Nico, unless you die before that."** Kurama chuckled causing Percy to frown and turn away from the fox.

"That's very reassuring." Percy said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "How would you know if Thalia is joining the hunters? That seems like a very farfetched assumption."

**"I'm not assuming anything. I've been watching her and she doesn't seem to particularly fond of bearing the weight of this prophecy. She'll look for an escape."** Kurama said. Percy raised an eyebrow and looked over towards where Thalia and Annabeth were sitting. Thalia seemed pale. Her sixteenth birthday was tomorrow and she had to make a decision.

"We are here." Artemis spoke up. Everyone looked forward to see Olympus in all of its glory. The whole place was completely breath taking. The lights lit up the night sky, dark fluffy clouds paved the polished marble road towards the giant temple that was Olympus.

The chariot landed and its passengers dismounted. Kurama hopped to the ground and turned to stop Percy while the others had already started making their way towards the throne room, where all the gods awaited.

**"After the meeting is over, meet me outside the front of Camp Half-blood. We have much to do."** Kurama said before turning and leaping off and disappearing through the dark clouds of Olympus. Percy just sighed as he turned around and followed behind the others.

As they reached the throne room, they were greeted by twelve Olympian gods and goddesses. Artemis had already made it to her throne and was sitting on it comfortably, gazing at the demigods as they walked in, especially Zoë and Percy. She narrowed her eyes and the latter.

"Welcome Heroes, I would like to thank you for putting yourself in harm's way to save Artemis. It is an incredible feat to be able to best the Titan of Endurance and strength and for that… we have decided as a council, not to kill you." Zeus started in a board tone. Percy could help but stifle a silent chuckle at Zeus's wording. It was like the fact that they were allowed to live, was a luxury.

"Furthermore, it has come to our attention that we do have a problem on our hands." All heads turned to Thalia, making her slightly self-conscious about her current position. She swallowed hard and stepped forward and knelled before her father.

"Please stand my child. You must understand, we are hesitant with both your fates and the child of my brother's fate." Zeus said eyeing Percy dangerously. Percy didn't even flinch and stared right back. Zeus sat back in his throne and breathed out.

"Tomorrow you are to turn sixteen, and bring about the fate of Olympus. You can either choose to accept this fate, or we can kill you, and help you avoid this fate. My heart weighs heavy on the latter decision, but there are no other options." Zeus said as he closed his eyes. Thalia couldn't help but tear up, but stood up and faced Zeus.

"Excuse me father, but there is another way." Thalia said. Zeus perked up at this and eyed her suspiciously.

"What is it, my daughter?" Thalia took a deep breath and released it, gathering her nerves.

"I have decided to join the Hunters of Artemis." Thalia stated. Instantly there was murmuring among the gods. Zeus sat back in his throne, relief flooding his eyes. He would not have to kill his own daughter, and she would not have to live out the prophecy.

"I will stay fifteen forever. I will not bear the prophecy." Thalia finished. The murmuring was cut as all heads turned to now the fourteen year old Son of Poseidon, who stood tall and firm, confidence in his posture. He had been taught strictly and harshly by Kurama. He was not afraid of the gods. Not one bit.

"I guess that leaves me huh? And sadly, I do not have the lovely choice of becoming a hunter of Artemis." Percy joked slightly, causing a bit of laughter out of the male gods. Walking forward and standing next to Thalia. She lowered her head and sent the boy a silent apology for dumping the fate of Olympus on top of him. He just smiled reassuringly and put a hand on her shoulder, as if to say 'don't worry about it'.

"There has been a lot of strife upon Olympus because of you boy." Athena said with piercing cold grey eyes. The very second she looked at him, she was analyzing him, his strengths his weaknesses and his darkest secrets. She knew, she was the goddess of intelligence and wisdom. While he had been trained by an ancient spirit, you cannot hide anything from Athena.

"Because of your stupid disappearance, seaweed brain over there almost started world war three!" Athena growled. She was about to stand out of her seat, but was interrupted as a trident slammed against the floor. Poseidon glared at her as he got out of his seat and approached his son. Percy felt very strange. This was the first time actually meeting his father, and the man seemed like a very defensive guy. No doubt that the very look in his eyes told Percy that he rained down hell on Hades after Sally was murdered and Percy disappeared.

"Percy… my son, I have failed you." Poseidon said sadly. Percy suddenly felt extremely guilty. He had caused his father such grief, and had almost brought about a war with the sea and a war with the underworld. It showed just how much Poseidon cared about his child.

"Don't worry, I don't want to say it was your fault." Percy said, his eyes displaying painful emotions and memories of the moment Sally was killed in that 'accident' years ago. The event that had turned Percy into a man, and had given him a will to live. "It wasn't your fault. You were bound by ancient laws from interfering." He finished. Poseidon looked down.

"I tried my best, but it seems that even we gods, are not perfect." Poseidon said. Percy just smiled bitterly, Poseidon doing the same as the two shook hands, and finally exchanged pleasantries.

"It's good to see you." Percy said. Poseidon just smiled.

"It's good to finally see you too, son." Poseidon said as he returned to his throne. The gods had taken to talking among-st themselves while Percy and Poseidon had made up. Zeus cleared his throat to speak again.

"The problem still stands. A child of the big three still lives and gets closer to sixteen every day. How do we know that he is capable of preserving Olympus? We lucked out with Thalia, but Percy cannot join the hunters!" Athena said. The Olympians were silent.

"We will not kill my son. He saved Artemis, he is to be treated as a hero." Poseidon said with authority. Athena growled and stood up out of her seat. Percy could feel the raw tension between Poseidon and Athena. She was a woman of logic and reason, and he could see himself that if they killed him now, the prophecy would be delayed another few years because of Nico. However Poseidon was extremely defensive for Percy, and would not tolerate any kind of action like that towards the son he had failed to protect.

"It is illogical to not deal with this matter now. We know not of what he is capable of and what decision he will make when the time comes." Athena protested. Poseidon was about to speak up before Artemis decided to add in her own input.

"If I may, I personally watched Percy engage Atlas on a one on one. Although he had help from an ancient spirit, Percy still managed to break Atlas and match him with strength and cunning ability. He, Zoë and their quest group saved me from an eternity under the sky. If killing him is Olympian justice, I will have none of it." Artemis declared. Athena sighed and sat back down. The gods were silent.

None of them seemed to particularly care really. Ares was sharpening his swords. Aphrodite was looking and apply some new make up in a mirror. Apollo and Hermes were listening to music while updating their Facebook. The rest were listening but, didn't really seem to have an opinion on the matter.

"I believe this matter should be closed until we cross this bridge at a later date. For now, let us enjoy the party." Zeus said as music started to boom throughout the hallways of Olympus. It was purely preference songs that played. Percy found that his favorite songs seemed to play on a looped cycle.

Demigods, satyrs, nature spirits, and all sorts of nice people were invited, some of the minor gods even attended the event after the council. Percy found that he wasn't much of a party person and decided to leave early. He had managed to make his way out of the building before he confronted by Artemis.

"Hello milady." Percy said nicely. Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"I take it you're not really a party person?" She asked, amusement in her voice. Percy sighed as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Not really. The social crowd is a bit too much for me. Plus I'm going to meet with Kurama. He said he had something planned. Probably more training if I were to guess." Percy said. Artemis nodded her head in understanding. There was a slight awkward silence as Percy decided to get nervous. Finally she asked the question he had been dreading.

"So, you have developed romantic feelings for my lieutenant. Can't say I'm particularly happy about this." Artemis said. Her tone in her voice wasn't anger, but more curiosity. Both he and Artemis were in a rather secluded location, and obviously she had planned this. She had caught him right in her trap.

"Apologies milady, I cannot control who I have feelings for. If it's any consolation, I won't bother you or her about it. That confession was rather stupid, but I needed to get it off my chest." Percy said respectively. Artemis just sighed and closed her eyes, turning away from the son of Poseidon.

"Normally I would ignore an instance like this, however she happens to be in the position where she wants to return your feelings. She feels the same way about you Perseus." Artemis said opening her eyes and turning back to him. She could see the hope in his eyes light up.

"Milady?" Percy looked up. She gazed at him, examining him once more before speaking again. She had to play her words right, and although she was very confused about the entire idea of Zoë and Perseus being together, it wouldn't be… so bad, if Zoë found someone in her life that could make her happier than she ever could.

"I have never done this before… it goes against everything I stand for, but… if you swear on your life, on Olympus, that you will always protect her, make her happy, and fight alongside her… I will let you… eh… what do you mortals call it again?" Artemis said, struggling to find the right words. Percy couldn't believe he was hearing or what he thought he was about to hear.

"I think its date. You may date her, and I will allow her to remain in the hunt. However if you are to ever hurt her…" Artemis pulled out a knife and lowered it to his crotch. "I will make sure you never walk again." Percy, although frightened slightly by the gesture just smiled and pushed the knife away.

"I would never hurt Zoë, and it's my dream to protect all of my precious people. I would take you up on your offer, but it's really up to Zoë whether she wants to or not. I will not force anything on her." He said. Artemis nodded approvingly. Artemis was a hard person to please or bargain with, and Percy knew this to be a fact.

Out of nowhere, Zoë walked out of the party room, fully dressed in her hunter gear with a determined look on her face. She saw both Artemis and Percy conversing and felt a rather excited light within her light up.

"Milady, when do we leave?" Zoë asked. Artemis turned sharply to Percy. Percy could feel the tension the Goddess was feeling between the two. Zoë was rather impassive, her face not showing anything, but the goddess knew she was nervous around Percy. He was the complete opposite of what males were and what she had expected them to be. Percy was an anomaly to her. Artemis knew Zoë didn't like anomalies.

"Now. We'll be in touch Perseus, try not to get yourself killed." Artemis said flashing away with Zoë at her side. Percy brought in a deep breath and then exhaled. He was rather shaky when talking to the legendary man-hating goddess. He sighed.

"Of all the people that captured my attention… why does it have to be that damned Lieutenant? For the love of the gods Aphrodite, why make my life more complicated than it already is?" Percy groaned as he sat down on the Olympian sidewalk. He hung his feet over the edge, a drop that almost guaranteed certain death.

"You need to lighten up kiddo." A female voice said to his left. He turned to his left to find said goddess he was complaining about sitting right next to him. He placed his head in his palms, moaning about his situation. Aphrodite only laughed at his expense as she placed a friendly hand on his back. He suddenly felt very self-conscious and very vulnerable.

"It's because of you that I have these conflicting feelings for her. Why pair me with a forbidden love? How could you be so cruel?" Percy cried with fake tears. He was rather upset that Aphrodite was finding amusement out of all of this.

"Well, I wouldn't say it is completely my fault. I can't force love on someone who clear doesn't want anything to do with it. I was rather surprised when little Nightshade started showing signs of maturity. That flower is beginning to bloom." Aphrodite sung. Percy rolled his eyes. He was sure there was some kind of sexual innuendo in there somewhere, but his exhausted state rendered his mind to process that as fast as a potato could.

"Please stop." Percy said. Aphrodite only gave him a kiss on the cheek, something he had colossal difficulty hiding his blush from. She was the goddess of love! How could he possibly ignore a kiss from the incarnate being of love and sex? He needed a cold shower for multiple reasons.

"No can do sweetie, your relationship with that love-sick huntress is possibly going to be my biggest hit yet! Maybe this can finally break Artemis and show Hestia and Athena that their vows for maiden chastity are silly and pointless." Aphrodite said. Percy stood up and turned away. In a way he was slightly angry at the love goddess for using his feelings.

"What does it matter to you what they decide. Sounds like you're trying to whore them out. Their decisions are their own, and by no means affect you." Percy growled. His anger was starting to get the better of him. He sensed no anger from the love goddess, but he only heard her sigh.

"You sound just like that Nightshade girl. Everyone always jumping to conclusions when it comes too little ol' me. Look here Perseus." Aphrodite said standing up. She transformed into what looked like a normal girl about his age. Percy looked at her, interest filling his eyes. He wondered what she was trying to prove.

"I've always been an underestimated goddess. Just because I am the deity of love, doesn't make me weak, or a whore. It's the modern day generations that write me and consider me a whore because I'm the closest deity there is to sexual relations and what not. However what most people overlook is that love is probably the most powerful desire there is in a human." She said walking around Percy. He narrowed his eyes.

"It's a primal desire, something that all humans treasure and protect. When it is threatened, there is no limit to what a human can achieve… You know this." Aphrodite said. Percy growled as a memory flashed in front of his eyes. His mother in the car with him that very day. She, at the last second and used her own body as a shield for him when that truck slammed into their car. She did it out of love.

Another flash, briefly. He saw Zoë above him, treating him back to health in the middle of a junkyard. Her eyes portrayed love and desire to keep him alive and by her side. He gently raised a hand and touched the wound that had long since healed. Love had been a factor in saving his life more than once.

"The only reason you are even fighting for Olympus is because of the people you have come to love. You love that fox spirit that saved you, as you would love an uncle. You love your father, you love Zoë, and you even love Artemis for accepting you. Nico Di Angelo for looking up to you. You don't realise a lot of things Percy, but yet you still fight to keep them all safe." Aphrodite said. She stopped walking around him and smiled.

"Try not to feel so glum, I'm sure Zoë will confess to you some time in the future. You have my word." She said. Percy sighed. He turned to head for the exit of Olympus, the love goddess watching his retreating form. She smiled rather sadly. The boy was in despair, and so alone. The time throughout the quest had probably been the happiest for him.

"You will understand someday, Perseus Jackson. Love will help you save this world." She said before disappearing into a cloud of pink smoke.

* * *

Percy had made it back to camp where Kurama was waiting silently on top of Zeus fist. How he had managed to get into the camp borders without the shield kicking him out was beyond Percy. Kurama was over forty thousand years old, he had his own tricks up his arsenal. Percy dropped down in front of the fox causing the fox to open his crimson eyes.

**"Took your time Ningen. We have a problem."** Kurama said looking down. Percy looked down as well. He knew what Kurama was looking at and referencing. It was the fact that when Percy was here last in Sage Mode during capture the flag, he sensed that time and space beneath this rock bended and twisted. Percy was going to investigate but was interrupted by the call of Kurama that very night in his dreams. Now he had time.

"Yeah, I noticed a while back. What is it?" Percy asked. Kurama hummed to himself in thought. They had a serious situation here, and with Krono's army getting larger by the day, if they discovered this then it was going to be a serious problem.

**"Between these rocks lies the entrance to the Labyrinth. Problem is that I can't open it, and I can't get inside. The magic prevents me from entering. However you can."** Kurama said. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I want to go down there?" He asked. Kurama once again hummed to himself. It wasn't an easy task. It was clear what needed to happen but how he was supposed to achieve that was far beyond what Kurama could know. There were even some things about the mythological world that still confused the old fox.

**"It's a doorway for monsters straight into the heart of camp! What do you think? If Kronos knows about this; and I wouldn't put it past him, I would suspect he's going to find out how to navigate the maze and then destroy camp half-blood. Cutting off the defensive force that will defend Olympus. In short, if Camp Half-Blood falls, then this war is as good as lost."** Kurama explained. Percy leaned down and pushed some rocks out of the way, revealing the Daedalus symbol.

"What's my objective then, what should I do?"

**"Either find out how to move the entrance to somewhere other than inside the camp, or destroy the Labyrinth in its entirety."** Kurama replied. Percy deadpanned. His mentor, his teacher… just asked him to destroy something as legendary as the Labyrinth? One of the greatest architectural piece ever created?

"You're asking me to destroy the Labyrinth. How exactly would I go about doing that?" Percy said. Kurama hummed. If he were to go by the myths, the Labyrinth was tied to the maker's life-force, but that was only one of the very many myths out there.

**"You would have to find Daedalus. Only that way can you actually succeed in anything. I'm not sure, but you're going to have to improvise. I have never been down there before, so I don't know what to expect. However I have seen what it can do to people. Keep in Sage Mode at all times. Isolation down in the Labyrinth could make you go mad. Make sure you are in sync with nature before descending."** Kurama advised. Percy nodded.

"**Before you go, I need you to put your hand on this."** Kurama said summoning a small black box with a puff of smoke. The orange fox held up the small box in front of Percy. The son of Poseidon frowned a little before making a face of confusion. He scratched his head.

"Eh? What's that?" Percy asked. Kurama just chuckled and grinned. It looked like just a regular black box. Percy wondered what was so special about it. He did sense a rather small sensation coming from the box.

**"It's a box."** Kurama said plainly. Percy deadpanned as the fox shook the box in front of his face mockingly. The fox was obviously playing with him. If he wanted Percy to put a hand on it, obviously there was something about the box. Percy hesitated for a split second before raising his hand and placing it on the box.

Instantly he felt a strange surge of power flow through him. It wasn't quite Senjutsu but it was different, felt like the box was transferring some kind of power. Percy gritted his teeth as the power continued to surge through him, it was like something out of a fairy tale! Blue light seemed to float around him, a faint aura covering the lower half of his torso, slowly making its way up his body.

The blue aura suddenly vanished abruptly leaving Percy feeling refreshed and confused. Kurama erupted into laughter, like he had finally achieved something and was so happy about it. The fox grinned as the box popped into smoke as Kurama walked around Percy.

**"I knew it! I absolutely knew it! Descendant you are, but I never thought you would actually be of Uzumaki blood! Unbelievable. Maybe it's the fates playing with me. Perseus Uzumaki Jackson, it's nice to finally meet you."** Kurama laughed. Percy was beyond confused. He examined his hands to notice a strange symbol.

"Uzumaki? What is that? What are you talking about?" Percy said as he examined his body for any physical changes. Apart from the strange small circle symbol on his right hand, nothing had obviously changed other than the fact that he felt more aware and slightly more powerful. Kurama had to regain composure of himself before turning to face Percy again. It had been too long since he had met an Uzumaki descendant.

Kurama knew from the start that Percy was the prophecy child, but that he would also unite the gods and campers, along with the Romans, and bring about a new era of peace and prosperity. He couldn't do it alone though, but never would he have thought that Percy actually had dormant Uzumaki blood! It was a long shot yes… the box had been given to him by his old partner to help confirm blood lines, he never thought he would use it till now.

**"Back in my time, there were a number of clans that ruled the nation. I have told you this story, remember? One of those clans was the Uzumaki, very powerful." **Kurama said. Percy nodded understandingly. It was rather easy to comprehend, however what he didn't understand was how he was a descendant of a clan that existed forty thousand years ago.

"Wait, how is that possible? Wouldn't the bloodlines get so diluted after that long? How could I possibly have Uzumaki blood?" Percy asked. Kurama chuckled a little.

**"Bloodline's don't just die out that easily. It has nothing to do with being diluted. The fact is that after the fourth Great War, there was a long period of time where peace reigned. The need for shinobi grew thin and eventually over time died out, along with the need for chakra. It was a stage in evolution, but DNA and bloodlines can be passed down for millennia without being noticed. Eventually the names vanished and nobody thought of them anymore. There could be hundreds of Uzumaki walking around the world right now and they wouldn't even know it." **Kurama explained. Percy frowned.

"So wait a minute, you're telling me descendants from all those different clans are just walking around going about their daily life? Nobody's noticed the inner abilities the blood holds?" Percy asked to confirm. Kurama just nodded.

**"The blood abilities remained dormant and out of sight from human technology. It's incredible how well the blood hides itself, however… when presented with familiar chakra, the dormant genes start to reawaken."** Kurama said. Percy shuddered as his body started to feel heavy. He felt healthier, fitter and more aware. Not quite on the level of Senjutsu, but still, he felt like a meta-human.

**"However, you still do not possess chakra coils. However you should ****find**** some noticeable changes in and out of combat later. Especially since you've inherited the sage genes from the Uzumaki line. Amazing, I never would have guessed."** Kurama grinned. Percy had to smile himself, he felt much better now. Whatever that box had done, regardless of the explanation, he was happy.

"I should get going. I'll keep in touch." Percy said as he placed his hand on the Daedalus symbol. The rocks slowly rolled out of place to reveal a dark hole. Percy wasn't sure how far it went down, but he knew he could survive any kind of height as long as he stuck the landing. Perks to being a powerful demigod.

**"Good, don't die. Don't want your girlfriend getting all upset now do we?"** Kurama said mockingly. Percy scowled and dropped into the hole without another word. Kurama chuckled to himself as he hopped off Zeus's fist. He had hunters to watch. Now that Artemis knew of his presence, maybe he should give them a hand.

He had a feeling Percy wasn't the only demigod with descendant blood.

* * *

_A/N: SO YEAH, LONG CHAPTER_

_Lot's of stuff happened, and I can tell a lot of you have questions. So, basically if you have any urgent questions, PM me. I'll try an answer them if I have time. Between School, my job and other responsibilities, I am extremely busy so I'll do my best._

_Firstly, Percy is indeed a descendant of Naruto. Let me just clear that up now. This in turn makes him a descendant of Ashura. Right now, Percy doesn't really understand this, and has no idea of of the magnitude of the power he just gained. He also has no clue as to how to use it, and he isn't going to use it for a long time. Let me put this straight out there now..._

_Sage mode makes Percy powerful enough to match someone like Artemis. Now... if Sage Mode can do that... what exactly is Six Paths Mode capable of? Well, we don't know yet, and wont find out for a while because Percy has no clue he has it, and how to use it. All he knows right now is that Kurama awakened some kind of blood-line within him and hasn't pushed for anything more. So don't expect god-like Percy any time soon or ever in that matter. I don't want god mode characters going around owning everything._

_On another note, Percy's confession was stupid, I know. I wrote it to be comical relief, bite me. He and Zoe will have a proper confession moment later in this story._

_Nico is turning into a badass, just the way I like him and wished he'd be. Nico seriously needed more to his character. I haven't finished Blood of Olympus and House of Hades, but from what i have read on the reviews, i don't think i will. House of Hades sounds alright, but apparently Blood of Olympus was below average for an ending to a really good series._

_However let me get this straight right now. Percy isn't going to be a Naruto. Percy will be his own character and make his own decisions. Whether there cruel or merciful is too be seen, but he's not going to be anything like Naruto other than the fact that he wants to protect his precious people. You'll see what I mean as the story progresses, if you decide to stay for that long that is._

_So if Percy's an Uzumaki descendant, who's the Uchiha? Or the Hyuuga? Interesting? Any one guess? We shall see..._

_Sneak Peak for coming chapters:_

_"There's millions of them. That's not an army. It's a extinction force..." - Nico_

_"Milady... you're blood. It's red!" - Thalia_

_"I should have known it would be you, it's always been you. Hiding in the shadows for so long. That's just like you isn't it..?" - Kurama_

_"The Titans and the Gods are so fragile and weak minded... all it took was a few whispers to the right people. Mother is very patient." - ?_

_"You killed her right in front of me. That's a action you are going to regret for eternity!" - ?_

_Next chapter: The Maze of Madness..._


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